Last year, on the same course, the men’s and women’s teams finished sixth at the NAIA Championship Meet.
“It was a pretty good day,” said Cougar coach Bill Reeves. “I was kind of surprised. After the race you have to wait some time for the team results to be tabulated, and I thought on both sides we were anywhere from fifth to tenth. To finish at the top end of my expectations was very nice.”
In his final meet as a Cougar, senior Tim Gachago put on his best performance, running a career-best 25:31 8K to finish 25th out of 255 runners and earn his first-ever All-American recognition. Additionally, he becomes the ninth Cougar man to win All-American honors in cross country. Despite muddy conditions from week-long rains in the Louisville area, Gachago blazed through the crowd of runners to lead Azusa Pacific to its best showing on the national level in 10 years and the second-best team finish in program history.
“Tim went out pretty conservative,” said Reeves, “but he kept picking people off along the way. He knew he had to push it and was just stronger than everyone else over the final 3 miles. I knew he was capable of something like this.”
Junior Danny Reid was 47th with a 26:02, while fellow junior Kevin Lindsey finished 67th with a 26:20. Rookie Caleb Lynch was 86th at 26:33, third-best among American freshmen in the race.
The Cougar women, who came into the meet ranked No. 6 in the nation, put on a surprising showcase to finish fifth, matching the program’s second-best showing on the NAIA championship level. As expected, senior Brianna Carstensen paced the Cougars by finishing fourth with a 17:48 over the 5K course to collect her third straight All-American honor, the most in Azusa Pacific cross country history.
“Brianna was really prepared to run,” said Reeves. “We knew there were good people out there but we thought she had a good chance to win the overall individual title. However, Mirriam Kaumba (Oklahoma Baptist) just had a great day. Still Brianna ends a very good cross country career with an excellent effort.”
Sophomore Whitney Jacobsmeyer also garnered All-American recognition with an 18:32, good enough for 25th out of 258 female competitors. She becomes Azusa Pacific’s eighth All-American in the program’s 24-year history.
Over the past 5 NAIA women’s championship meets, Azusa Pacific along with Concordia of Nebraska have the best overall finishes combined.
“Both the men’s and women’s programs are headed in the right direction,” said Reeves. “Last year we were sixth, this year fifth, so you have to be pleased with the progress. Both programs are relatively young so the future looks good.”
