The Wildcats cross-country phenom Andruw Villa made history as he showed how great he is by dethroning Nicodemus Naimadu, for the program’s longtime 8K record back in October. 

For the freshman, it has been a season of steady improvement, commitment, and relationship-building with his coaching staff. He spoke after the race to emphasize his trust in Head Coach Nathan Meeuwenberg–a relationship he said is mainly to be credited for much of his development. 

“My confidence in coach is now never questioned,” Villa said. “Anytime he tells me something, it happens. When I will feel something somewhere or how a certain race will go. I have full trust in him.”

The unwavering commitment to learn and be able to grow is paramount in Villas’s future success’ at ACU, Mueewnberg said.

“Andruw did what Andruw did all season,” Meeuwenberg said. “He continues to improve. We knew he was a very talented individual who was going to elevate this program, and he has continued to do that. His future is obviously bright; we have big goals, and we’re going to chase them.”

Besides the record-breaking performance, Villa’s top-10 finish with a time of 23:51.72,  at the Western Athletic Conference Championships, showed he could hold his own against the best from around the conference. However, Villa is staying down to earth with eyes on the prize as the job is not yet finished. 

“I’ve just been running my hardest,” he said. “We believe I have a 50/50 chance of making it to nationals. I just got to keep working.”

Villa also showed appreciation for his teammates who pushed him forward. He mentioned that one reason he came to ACU was due to coach Meewenbergs recruiting classes.

“I saw a class of freshmen that looked great,” he said, “All of them have come in, worked with coach, and got their times chopped down.”

The regional tournament, for those who qualified, is next up for the wildcats. Villa looks to chase down the national limelight and represent ACU well.