Waxahachie, Texas – February 4, 2017 – It was the inaugural year of the Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) Half Marathon and the event proved to be a huge success. On top of 80 registered runners, the SAGU track and field team qualified three runners for the upcoming NAIA Marathon National Championship in May.
Reigning NAIA Marathon Champion Destiny Garza along with Jerry Nava and freshman Robert Herrera were all NAIA A-standard qualifiers, meaning the men beat the mark of 1:13:30 and that Garza beat the qualifying mark of 1:30:00.
Nava, a 2016 national marathon qualifier, was the Overall Male Champion with an overall time of 1:12:06. Robert Herrera finished second overall with a time of 1:12:57. Garza was the Overall Female Champion with the time of 1:22:57.
“The route was exceptionally fast this morning and I am so proud of my runners,” explains head coach Jason Covarrubias, “I’ve always told them that we must continue to build and by going from two to three national qualifiers we did just that.”
Of the 80 registered runners, 24 were college competitors in search of a NAIA qualifying time. Four universities in addition to SAGU were present, John Brown University, Wayland Baptist, Texas Wesleyan and Central Christian.
In addition to the three qualified SAGU runners, six other college-athletes qualified for the NAIA Marathon National Championship. All together there were three male A-list, one male B-list, three female A-list and two girl B-list qualifiers.
For months now, the SAGU track and field team has been preparing for the SAGU Half Marathon. They would like to thank their generous sponsors for the donations; Baylor Scott & White of Waxahachie, Waxahachie Convention & Visitors Bureau, John Houston Custom Homes, Waxahachie YMCA, Franco Graphics, Compton Time and Measure and Paul Box with Edward Jones.
The official results for the race can be found here: http://m.raceresults360.com/v1/index.html?racekey=Y7ziQA
The SAGU Half Marathon will be a yearly tradition. The date for 2018 will be February 3 rd . There is an early-bird registration going on until February 10, 2017. You can register HERE and use the code “EBS2018” for a special price of $30.
Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.
Contact: Natalie Tristan, SAGU SID, [email protected]