JBU men pick up pace
The John Brown University men’s cross country team isn’t short on expectatitons for the 2016 season.
The Golden Eagles, who finished fifth in the Sooner Athletic Conference Championships for the third straight year in 2015, open their season Friday, Sept. 2, in the Bearcat Invitational on the campus of Southwest Baptist (Mo.) in Bolivar, Mo.
And the Golden Eagles have the potential to have one of their better teams, according to Scott Schochler, who is in his fourth season as JBU cross country coach.
“On the men’s side I think we’re going to be even faster than we were last year,” Schochler said. “We’re still going to be real young, mostly sophomores and freshmen. But we’ve got some really solid runners that should be back. … Our guys should be stout.”
JBU has 15 runners on its roster, led by the return of All-Sooner Athletic Confernece runner Josh Uzelac.
Uzelac, a sophomore from Springdale Har-Ber, finished 12th in the SAC Championships last year and qualified for an at-large berth in the NAIA Cross Country Championships, where he finished 122nd in a 328-runner field last November.
“Josh Uzelac, he’s the only guy on our team that has experience at the national championships,” Schochler said. “Hopefully he can get our guys a little more excited and train hard and put the goal out there for the rest of the team to get out there with him.”
Uzelac is one of four sophomores on the team, which includes five freshman, four juniors and two seniors.
The two seniors — Kent McDonell and Levi Nordmeyer — have been with Schochler through his entire tenure at JBU.
“They came in when I did and both of them have turned into really great leaders for our team,” Schochler said. “Levi’s performed better at meets, but Kent’s role has been to organize the team with weekend workouts and just making sure the team’s together and where it needs to be with camaraderie. He’s extremely valuable.”
Nordmeyer is a native of the African country Kenya, but he ran at Rogers his senior year of high school. He came on strong halfway through his sophomore and junior years, Schochler said.
“The last year and a half he’s just been super consistent and been at the front of our team,” Schochler said. “I expect that to continue. We hope he’s faster than he has been and we’re pretty sure he will be.”
Also, Schochler said 2016 will be the last year for redshirt junior Aaron Stafford to compete as he is academically a senior but still has another year of eligibility.
“Aaron just plugs away in workouts,” Schochler said. “He’s got a great attitude and is very consistent. We can always count on him.”
Jake Braschler and Justin Riffel — both of Wichita, Kan., — and Thomas Bearden of Lake Hamilton round out the Golden Eagles’ junior class.
“I know Jake’s been training really well all summer. We’re excited to have him back. He could challenge for one of our top five spots.
“Thomas and Justin were both overseas this summer. It may take them the first half of the season to get up to speed. They’ve both been solid performers for us.”
Uzelac headlines the four sophomores, but Jacob Benjamin of Salem, Ore., could be a key runner this year for the Golden Eagles, Schochler said.
“Jacob Benjamin is the wild card for our team right now,” Schochler said. “Last year he was anywhere from our No. 3 to No. 7 guy. He’s had a chance to train quite a bit. He’s from the Pacific Northwest, so once he read-apts to the heat he’ll be fine.”
Sophomore Jacob Synek has “been working out like crazy this summer,” Schochler said.
“Last year was about him getting experience,” Schochler said of Synek. “Now he’s got a year of experience under his belt at the college level. He could go from No. 2 to No. 7.”
Sophomore Michael Games of North Little Rock (Central Arkansas Christian) has battled some recent health issues. If he’s been able to successfully conquer those, he has the potential for a breakout year his coach said.
“If he runs like he did in high schoool, he’ll work out really great,” Schochler said.
Of the five freshmen, local runner Elliott Pearson of Siloam Springs is a standout.
Pearson, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Cross Country Runner of the Year in 2015, was the Class 6A individual state champion and helped the Panthers to a state runnerup finish.
“We’re excited to see what Elliott can do at the college level,” Schochler said. “I know he’s been training very well this summer. He’s going to be one of our top runners.
“Obviously the transition from the high school 5K to the 8K in college can be a little goofy. The speed of the race compared to college actually picks up a little and in some cases quite a bit. But the distance, it almost doubles. That first meet or two is always a transition. I think Elliott’s a competitior and will stick his nose in there.”
Pearson is the son of former JBU standout runner and head coach Matt Pearson, who helped resurrect the dormant cross country program in 2010.
Elliott Pearson will be joined in the freshman class by his cousin, Nathan Pearson, who has been training all summer with the team.
The Golden Eagles are excited about freshman Arturo Rivera of California.
Ethan Stafford of Carl Junction, Mo., is the younger brother of upper classman Aaron Stafford.
Nate Wertjes is also on the team, hailing from the state of Washington.
We’ve probably got one or two guys at the front end of our team and then probably another eight or nine that could challenge for the top five spots,” Schochler said. “It’s a nice situation I think.”