Zarazua qualifies for NAIA outdoor marathon

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Dec. 17, 2009) – Oklahoma Christian sophomore cross country runner, Joseph Zarazua, qualified provisionally for the outdoor marathon by running a 1:14:01 half marathon at the Dallas White Rock Marathon on Dec. 13.

Zarazua, a member the men’s cross country team that placed 14th at the national meet a few weeks ago, narrowly missed the automatic qualifying mark by one second in the half marathon. The San Antonio, Texas native set a personal best and has his sights set on the full marathon event hosted at the NAIA national outdoor track meet on May 29, 2010.

Head cross country coach, Mark Thompson, was pleased with Zarazua’s performance. “Joseph is a classic example of hard work and dedication. Running 5:39 per mile for 13 miles is something I would have never dreamed of Joseph doing 16 months ago when he arrive at OC,” Thompson said. “I’m extremely proud of him.”

“Going into the race I thought [Joseph] was in shape to run an hour fifteen. We caught a good weather day and he ran perfectly to end up with a 1:14:01,” Thompson said. “It was just a fantastic effort.”

-OC-