NCAA qualifier is named Athletic Round Table’s College Men’s Cross Country Runner of Year
Nick Randazzo of UCSB let it be known early that he was going to be a runner to be reckoned with this cross country season.
The junior started the year with back-to-back wins and improved on his personal-best 8k time in both races.
That set the tone for the rest of the season. He went on to place second at the Big West Championships, finished 14th at the NCAA Regionals and qualified for the NCAA Championships.
The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table is honoring Randazzo and College Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Year.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Randazzo and the other fall and winter sports season athletes of the year in college and high school sports are being presented their awards in a virtual format via the Round Table’s social media platforms of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and on the Noozhawk.com Sports Page. There are no awards for spring sports because their seasons were cut short by the pandemic.
Wednesday’s Award: College Women’s Cross Country
Randazzo came into his junior season well prepared.
“His early success was a direct result of improved fitness he built up through increased mileage in the off-season,” said Cody Fleming, director of cross country/track and field at UCSB. “Nick is a very disciplined athlete. He keeps a detailed training journal and constantly meets with our cross country head coach Darius Terry, engaging in-depth with his workouts.
“Their relationship and trust paid off late in the season, where Nick took a runner-up finish at the Big West Championships.”
At the NCAA Regional, Randazzo went out hard from the start on the cold November morning in Colfax, Wash., and ran the 10k race in 30:02. He finished 14th to earn a trip to Terre Haute, Ind. for the NCAA Championships.
“The aggressive race plan by Coach Terry paid off,” said Fleming. “Overall, he won three Big West Athlete of the Week honors and put himself on the map as a national class runner. He is the leader of our team and he’ll be someone to watch each time he toes the line for us.”
In addition to his running success, Randazzo excels in the classroom. The environmental studies major was named to the Big West All-Academic Team.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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