Senior jumper and short sprinter Sameer Sedam placed third in long jump, first in the 4×400 relay and registered one qualifying finish in the 60-meter dash out of 49 total qualifying finishes in Saturday, Jan. 25’s indoor qualifying meet. Photo credit: Kimberly Smith
As the Azusa Pacific men’s and women’s track & field teams enter the 2014 season as their final year of competition before they become full members of the NCAA, coaches and athletes are striving to carry on the winning traditions of APU track & field.
Several key Cougar athletes are redshirting this season, which will allow them to save eligibility for NCAA competition next season and years following. This year’s redshirts include top men’s sprinter sophomore Remontay McClain and senior multi-event participant Megan VanWinkle on the women’s team. Despite the absence of several key players, athletes are still expecting to be competitive on the national level this season.
“I’m hoping to see people, including myself, step up and become better athletes so we can start our first NCAA season off with a bang,” VanWinkle said. “I want people to know our name and know that we are a force to be reckoned with.”
Before next season’s NCAA debut, this season holds many expectations.
“We have a solid group of juniors and seniors that will be competing that will still have the ability to do really well,” men’s head coach Kevin Reid said. “David Schulte is coming back as a defending champion in both indoor and outdoor 400s; we’re going to have good relays. It’s going to be a solid year.”
Another key returning athlete who will be competing for a national championship is senior jumper and short sprinter Sameer Sedam. As defending National Christian College Athletic Association Champions, Sedam fully expects both teams to be right back at that level this season.
“We have many athletes that are full of experience at the big stage as well as freshmen and transfers who are eager to show off their God-given abilities at a high level,” Sedam said. “Given our state of training and state of mind, stacked on top of the rich winning traditions of Azusa Pacific track & field, we all fully believe we will bring more national championships home to APU.”
The Cougars hosted their first meet of the 2014 season on Saturday. At the indoor events qualifier meet, the Cougars put up 49 marks that met the NCCAA indoor national championship standards.
During the meet, 37 Cougar athletes registered at least one NCCAA qualifying mark, including 11 who were able to qualify in multiple events. Overall, the women accounted for 21, while the men added 16.
For the men, standout performers were senior mid-distance Riley McKee, who ran a 1:55.37 in the 800 meters, and sophomore sprinter Ronald Douglas, who ran a 22.10 in the 200 meters, both of which would be provisional qualifiers for NCAA Division II competition.
For the women’s team, the top performers of the day were senior hurdler Jordan Chesley (60 meters, 60 meter hurdles), senior mid-distance runner Diandra Carstensen (800 meters, mile) and junior transfer Amber Panapa (weight throw, shot put).
The Cougars’ next meet will take place Saturday, Feb. 1 at Westmont College in Santa Barbara.