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Courtesy: CBU Release: 02/13/2008 |
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Wade Watkins begins his third year as CBU's Head Cross Country Coach and
second as the Head Distance Track Coach. Watkins was hired Feb. 13, 2008 and was charged with re-starting the program from scratch. The program made great progress in 2009 as the Lancer men, who at one point were ranked No. 22 in the NAIA, finished the season just one spot and 20 points out of the NAIA's Top 25. They finished second in the GSAC Championships behind Westmont, and sophomore Javier Madrid qualified as an individual for the NAIA National Championships where he finished 174th out of 323 competitors. The Lancer women finished seventh at the GSAC Championships with Jacquie Lutz leading the way with a 20th place finish. In the spring of 2009, Watkins spearheaded the re-emergence of track at CBU. The Lancers competed in distance events only and had two national qualifiers. Lutz finished 26th in 10,000 meters at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships, while Ana Mendoza finished 33rd. The next day, Lutz finished 14th in her qualifying heat in the 5,000 meters. On the men's side, Chris Cline garnered All-GSAC honors, finishing third in the 800 meters. On the indoor circut, Watkins led Ana Mendoza (5,00 meters) and the men's distance medley relay team to the 2010 NAIA National Championships. It was the first time since 2002 the Lancers were represented at the indoor championships. Both Mendoza and the men's DMR competed in their respective semifinal heats. Watkins spent eight seasons as the assistant coach for cross country and track and field at NCAA Division II Cal Poly Pomona. He was a valuable assistant for the Broncos track and field program, working with decathletes, heptathletes, pole vaulters, jumpers as well as distance runners, which he focused on this past season. He also served as the lead assistant for cross country. Prior to his stint at Cal Poly Pomona, Watkins spent 16 years at Los Altos (Calif.) High, spending 10 of those as the head coach of both the cross country and track and field teams. In his last seven years as head coach, Los Altos was undefeated in cross country and won four league titles in track and field. In the early 1990s, Watkins competed as a nationally-ranked mountain biker and duathlete (running and cycling). He owned a personal training business and served as the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Top Gun Volleyball Club in Diamond Bar, Calif., developing programs for 12 elite age-group volleyball teams. For 24 years, Watkins worked full-time in the business world, owning
and managing the day-to-day operations for Lube Pit Stop (automotive
maintenance) in Industry, Calif. He recently sold the business in order
to concentrate on coaching. |
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Courtesy: CBU
