Jason
is back for his second season on the coaching staff, after a terrific
career as a VU Lion. Valenzuela finished his collegiate athletic career
as VU's Male Athlete of the Year in 2008. Valenzuela's senior laurels
included three NAIA competitions, leading the men's cross country team
to nationals, and making individual appearances in indoor and outdoor
track. His final collegiate race was the Marathon at the NAIA Outdoor
Championships where he finished tenth in a school record time of 2:33.
The team MVP for both track and cross country, Valenzuela holds the VU
record in the marathon and the 10,000 meter and has the second-lowest
8K cross country time in school history.
Valenzuela's
Vanguard athletic career also included two All-GSAC and All-Region
cross country selections as well as two appearances at the NAIA
National Championships. His track and field career at Vanguard was
equally as impressive. Crowned the GSAC Individual Champion in the
10,000m in 2007 and the 5,000m in 2008, Valenzuela earned three
All-GSAC Track and Field laurels as a Lion, and qualified for the NAIA
Indoor and Outdoor Championships both years at Vanguard.
Jason
has assisted the track athletes at FitBus and will use his athletic
experiences to help current VU cross country and track athletes have a
successful athletic career at Vanguard. The 2008 VU Male Athlete of the
Year will assist Wilkins with the men's and women's teams and take an
active role in day to day workouts and competitive meets.
Valenzuela
graduated from Huntington Beach High School and Orange Coast College
before transferring to Vanguard. He attained his Bachelor's degree in
History/Political Science in the spring of 2007 and plans to pursue his
Master's degree in History at American University.
