Bryan Wilkins returns for his 22nd year as a coach in the Vanguard University Athletic Department and has the longest tenure of any coach on staff. He is in charge of recruiting and developing athletes, as well as all of the administrative duties for his programs. Inducted into VU’s Athletic Hall of Fame in the fall of 2007, Wilkins is an unbelievably committed coach for both the men’s and women’s cross-country teams as well as the track and field teams. Wilkins became the second coach recognized in this manner and is the only current VU coach in the VU Athletic Hall of Fame.

Wilkins and the Lions are coming off a very successful men’s season, climbing to as high as 12th in the country. Highlights included finishing third at the CSU-Fullerton Invite, and fourth at the UC Riverside Invite, both of which set marks for program bests. The Lions also had three All-GSAC runners (tied for most-ever), and had one athlete finish ninth at NAIA Nationals, a program record. The 2009 Lions will surround the two returning all-conference runners with fresh faces and a senior captain looking for his last shot at a National berth.

The Lion women finished one place higher than 2007, taking sixth in the ultra-competitive GSAC. Senior captain and one-time All-American Rebecca Sopp led the young VU squad for most of the season, and will be sorely missed in 2009. However, Coach Wilkins has returned the most of the young team from a season before, and has added three freshmen that he hopes will help the Lions rise back to National prominence.

Overall under his guidance, three men’s teams (1994, 1995, and 2007) have qualified and competed nationally, finishing as high as twenty-second. Five of his women’s teams have been ranked in the NAIA top 25, and the Lions made National Championship team appearances in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Wilkins’ athletes have succeeded on and off the course. He has coached 54 NAIA All-Americans and 53 NAIA Scholar-Athletes during his career at Vanguard.

Personally, Wilkins has been involved in running (track, cross country, and road-racing) for 36 years and has logged well over 50,000 miles in his lifetime as a distance runner. A high school cross country and track athlete from Nebraska, Wilkins completed in collegiate cross country while he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Evangel University in 1983. In addition, he has run post collegiately for three different club teams.

"I love developing student-athletes in a Christian environment," says Wilkins. "I absolutely love VU and all the institution stands for."

In addition to his part-time coaching job at Vanguard University, Bryan has a full-time job as the Business Manager at Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa. Wilkins is single and lives in Irvine.

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.

Profile of Coach Smith under construction, coming soon.