Stars Take Fifth Cross Country National Title
• No. 1 rank in every poll in 2019 and 2018
• 5th NAIA men’s cross country championship
• 69th National Championship
• 27-Year streak of National Championships
Highlights
Mark Shaw from Ormesby, Middlesbrough, England, of the Stars nabbed his second individual national title. Oscar Kipkoros took fifth, and Max McNeill finished 13th to seize all-American honors for the third year in a row.
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association awarded ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV head coach Matt Aguero the NAIA men’s cross country coach of the year and Shaw athlete of the year. The USTFCCCA also named ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV the scholar team of the year for the second straight season and Shaw the men’s scholar-athlete of the year.
Aguero has now won back-to-back men’s cross country titles as head coach at ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV.
Home of the Champs
The NAIA awarded the 2022 Women’s Golf National Championships to Lincoln Park Golf Course hosted by ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV. Oklahoma City’s oldest public golf course unveiled its new $9.25 million club house in spring 2015.
For information on hole sponsorships and volunteer opportunities, contact Chris Maxon, ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV associate athletic director for development, at 405-208-5431 or [email protected].
Scholarship Established
Alumnus Matt Houston created the Northwestern Mutual Houston District Office Scholarship through his company to provide annual funds for an ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV student-athlete each year for the next five years.
A two-time baseball all-American at ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV, Houston was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2003 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. After a four-year career in professional baseball, including a selection to the minor league all-star game, he completed his degree in business administration from ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV and joined Houston Financial, a family-run financial service and advisory practice in Oklahoma City.
For more information on giving to ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV Athletics, contact Chris Maxon, associate athletic director for development, at 405-208-5431 or [email protected].
STUNT on Parade
ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV STUNT coach Karly Judkins and a group of 13 Stars performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 28 in New York City.
The parade is a Thanksgiving tradition that has lasted since 1924. NBC broadcasted the event.
Judkins is in her first year as ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV STUNT coach.
Win No. 1,500
Baseball coach Denney Crabaugh earned career win No. 1,500 in an 11–3 victory over York (Neb.) on Feb. 1 at Jim Wade Stadium. He is the second active coach in the NAIA to reach that height.
Crabaugh entered the season with a 1,499-460-2 career record in 31 years as Oklahoma City head coach. He has led ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV to 14 NAIA World Series appearances, 14 seasons with 50 wins, and the 2005 national championship. He has garnered membership in the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the NAIA Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and the ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV Athletics Hall of Fame.
Wrestling Crown
Rachel Watters, a senior from Ankeny, Iowa, collected the 155-pound national championship in the Women’s College Wrestling Association Championships on Feb. 8.
Five Stars wrapped up all-American acclaim. ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV’s Nkechinyere Nwankwo posted a third-place finish at 191, while Sydney Freund at 143 and Destiny Lyng at 136 placed fourth. Mattison Parker, at 130, picked up seventh.
Watters secured a berth in the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Track & Field Leaps Ahead
In the past three years, ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV has built up its track and field roster and competitive presence. In addition to distance running, ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV now competes in the following events:
Indoor Track
- 60
- 60 Hurdles
- 200
- 400
- 600
- 4 x 400 Relay
- High Jump
- Pole Vault
- Long Jump
- Triple Jump
- Shot Put
- Weight Throw
- Pentathlon
- Heptathlon
Outdoor Track
- 100
- 200
- 400
- 100 Hurdles
- 110 Hurdles
- 400 Hurdles
- 4 x 100 relay
- 4 x 400 relay
- High Jump
- Pole Vault
- Long Jump
- Triple Jump
- Shot Put
- Discus Throw
- Hammer Throw
- Javelin Throw
- Heptathlon
- Decathlon
The roster has grown from eight women each finishing in the top 10 three years ago to more than 70 men and women collectively finishing fifth indoors in 2019. This year, Marquania Rowell and Trey Cole have been named conference athletes of the week, and last year, Nikole Halladay-Meth became an all-American.
