National Champions
Men's cross-country brings home gold

By Ryan Dreesch, December 2011
Sports Editor

Paradise Valley Community College men’s cross country team won the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I championship in Hobbs, New Mexico on Saturday. Nov. 12.

Photo courtesy of PVCC Athletic Dept

From the left above, Coach David Barney, Ryan Norton, Alejandro Valencia, Jacob Naylor, Carl Greene, Justin Sekakuku, Ruganz Jules Mugisha and Matt Whitlatch proudly display their awards after taking home the NJCAA men's cross-country gold on Saturday, Nov. 12 in Hobbs, New Mexico.

Ranked 3rd in the NJCAA regional tournament, the men’s team bounced back for a spectacular points gain to win the tournament.

Four PVCC athletes finished in the top 12 positions for the event, bringing home the title and four All-American performances. Sophomore, Jacob Naylor placed 4th over-all for the competition finishing the 5.1-mile race with an outstanding time of just over 26 minutes.

“We expected to win regionals, and when we lost to Central Arizona, it gave me mixed emotions, but the guys we have were the best prepared team out there; we’ve been training since June 1st,” says Naylor.

Alejandro Valencia, freshman, placed 7th for the competition with a time of just under 27 minutes. “Every step we took out there was for each other, I just imagined holding the trophy above my head,” explains Valencia.

Re-grouping after the regional races and not giving up was the key to the Puma’s success for the national tournament. “We wanted it (the championship) real bad, and the coach’s dedication is a huge part of us winning this,” adds Valencia.

Freshman, Ryan Norton locked in 8th place for the competition, and Matthew Whitlatch, freshman, placed 12th giving PVCC just the edge to pass 2nd place Garden

City Community College and 3rd place Central Arizona College. Rugunza Mugisha, freshman, placed 26th giving this young upcoming squad an excellent closeout for the year.

This is the Puma’s third championship for the men since 2004 and the ninth National Championship PVCC has taken home. David Barney, PVCC track and field and cross-country team head coach, has guided the Puma’s to every outstanding victory in the running programs for over 16 years and is setting the bar for the athletic departments success.

Barney has earned cross-country head coach of the year for an 8th time by the NJCAA and attributes this year’s success to the amount of time spent on training and goal setting. “They’re a close team and are always willing to help each other out,” says Barney of his team.By  

The Puma’s loss to Central Arizona in the regionals race just 11 days prior motivated the team runners. Regarding that loss, Barney says,

“We don’t train for Regionals, we train to win Nationals. The team did a great job keeping their posture and composure.”

“I had some time to talk to the Oklahoma coaches at the meet and when we discussed their training, I realized that we have one of the greatest coach’s in the country,” says Naylor. I’m glad I came to PVCC’s program.”

What are his final thoughts on the matter — “Dream big,” he says.

The PVCC women’s cross country team placed 16th in the national competition. Ashley Workman finished in 56th place. Taylor Als, Wyndham Gardner, Leanna Morrison and Sabrina Polanco comprised the top five team scorers. Katlyn Davis finished two places behind Davis.