Azusa Pacific won its first-ever Pacific West Conference Men's Cross Country Championship in 2023 and also claimed a trio of awards at the end of the season.
Juan Diego Castro has his name on two plaques, voted by the conference coaches as the Runner of the Year and the Newcomer of the Year. Cougar leader
Sean Smith is the Coach of the Year and Biola's
Melt von Molendorff is the Freshman of the Year.
Juan Diego Castro joined an already loaded Azusa Pacific team in 2023. The former Oklahoma State star came to southern California having already won a national championship with the Cowboys in the indoor distance medley, and he was the Big 12 Conference champ in the 1,000 meters (indoor). For the Cougars he finished fourth at the PacWest Championships with a time of 24:36 on the ten kilometer course, and then broke out with a second place crossing at the West Regional Championships in Oregon with a time of 30:44, just two seconds back from the first place trophy winner. The Costa Rica native was then APU's top finisher at the NCAA Championships in Missouri, helping lead the Cougars to a tenth place standing.
That tenth place at the NCAA National Championships was the second best ever by a PacWest team, and the top since 2017.
Sean Smith earned Coach of the Year honors for that distinction, along with leading the Cougars to its best-ever second place showing at the regional meet and their first PacWest title. Smith's Cougars had five runners in the top seven at the conference meet in Fresno, cruising to the team title with 25 points, fifty points ahead of second-place Biola. At both the regional and national championships, Azusa Pacific finished one slot behind perennial power Chico State. Smith shared the Coach of the Year award in 2022 with Biola's Sean Henning.
Melt von Molendorff finished in 14th place at the PacWest Championships for Biola to earn Second Team All-PacWest honors. The PacWest Freshman of the Year was the top freshman finisher at Woodward Park in Fresno and the second runner to cross the line for Biola. Earlier in the season, he clocked 24:54 at The Master's Invitational, good for 21st place in a stacked field. The South Africa native (Cape Town) was injured during the NCAA West Regional meet and was not able to finish the race.
To see all-time PacWest award winners, click here for the
PacWest Men's Cross Country record book.
Below is the All-PacWest First, Second and Third Teams, based on their finish at the 2023 PacWest Championships. It was the fourth All-PacWest awards for APU's
Nixon Korir and Fresno Pacific's
Bryan Banuelos.
| 2023 ALL-PACWEST MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY AWARDS |
| Runner of the Year |
Newcomer of the Year |
Freshman of the Year |
Coach of the Year |
Juan Diego Castro
Azusa Pacific |
Juan Diego Castro
Azusa Pacific |
Melt von Molendorff
Biola |
Sean Smith
Azusa Pacific |
| 2023 ALL-PACWEST MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown/Previous School |
| FIRST TEAM |
| Jerry Baltzer** |
Biola |
Jr. |
Whittier, Calif. / La Serna HS |
| Bryan Banuelos*** |
Fresno Pacific |
Sr. |
Fresno, Calif. / Edison HS |
| Felix Perrier* |
Azusa Pacific |
So. |
Grenoble, France / Grenoble |
| Juan Diego Castro |
Azusa Pacific |
Sr. |
San Jose, Costa Rica / Oklahoma State |
| Jared Wright** |
Azusa Pacific |
Jr. |
Castle Rock, Colo. / Dominican |
| Nixon Korir*** |
Azusa Pacific |
Sr. |
Eldoret, Kenya / Kemeloi Boys School |
| Riley Burns** |
Azusa Pacific |
Jr. |
San Diego, Calif. / Maranatha HS |
| SECOND TEAM |
|
|
|
|
| Rodney Chemalmal |
Fresno Pacific |
So. |
Nakura, Kenya / Maseno School |
| Didier Sandoval** |
Azusa Pacific |
Jr. |
Glendora, Calif. / Glendora HS |
| Zola Sokhela |
Westmont |
Jr. |
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa |
| Benjamin Sumner |
Azusa Pacific |
Jr. |
Palmdale, Calif. / Highland HS |
| Bryce Gardhouse |
Westmont |
Jr. |
Simi Valley, Calif. / Moorpark CC |
| Juan Sebastian Garcia* |
Concordia |
Jr. |
Bogata, Columbia / QSI Almaty International |
| Melt von Molendorff |
Biola |
Fr. |
Cape Town, South Africa / Univ. of S. Africa |
|
|
|
|
| THIRD TEAM |
| Ezekiel Nyberg |
Azusa Pacific |
So. |
Las Vegas, Nev. / Edward Clark HS |
| Michael Schneider |
Azusa Pacific |
Jr. |
San Ramon, Calif. /Dougherty HS |
| Noah Plaza |
Concordia |
So. |
Gilbert, Ariz. / Williams Field HS |
| Logan McNamar* |
Dominican |
Gr. |
Pittsburg, Calif. / Pittsburg HS |
| Jacob Potere* |
Dominican |
Gr. |
Las Vegas, Nev. / Spring Valley HS |
| Colin Bervig |
Concordia |
Jr. |
Colorado Springs, Colo. / Liberty HS |
| Aiden Arredondo |
Biola |
Jr. |
Whittier, Calif. / La Serna HS |
*Previous All-PacWest Selection