TRK | Pannu Qualifies for U.S. Championships

June 21, 2018

DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Saint Mary's cross country and track athlete Rajpaul Pannu will represent the Gaels at this week's USA Track and Field Championships at Drake University, qualifying in the 10,000 meters as the first-ever Gael, current or former, to qualify for the meet.

"I am super proud of Raj," said Saint Mary's head coach Marty Kinsey. "He trains mostly on his own while working 50-plus hours a week. To be that driven requires such focus and determination. It's been a pleasure watching him grow as a person over the years. Being his coach has been uplifting and a blessing. He the first Gael Alumni to qualify for the USA National Championships in Track. Another first for our program. Good luck, Raj!"

Pannu will compete in the championship final at 5:40 p.m. PDT Thursday at Drake University's Drake Stadium. The men's 10,000-meter final will follow the women's final, which starts at 5 p.m. PDT. His time of 29 minutes, 8.3 seconds was one of the top-25 times submitted for the meet, qualifying him for the championship. The championship will be televised live by NBC Sports Gold on Thursday and Friday, with continued coverage on NBC Sports Gold and NBC Live on Saturday and Sunday.

Qualifying for the USA Track and Field Championships is the second recent major accomplishment for Pannu. He qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the marathon by running a B-standard of 2:17:05 in December, finishing 19th at the U.S. Marathon Championship in Sacramento.

"Getting back to training was the most humbling experience for me," said Pannu after qualifying for the marathon Olympic Trials. "I went from being able to run over 90 miles a week to feeling exhausted doing 40-50. The previous two years were marred by injuries, inconsistency, graduate school, and work.

"Moving forward, I will continue to work with Marty Kinsey and the Saint Mary's community towards becoming one of the top marathoners in the country. I have about 25 months until the 2020 Olympic trials, which is plenty of time for me to do so."

Pannu, who graduated from Saint Mary's in 2014, was an all-West Coast Conference runner. He is the only two-time all-West Region award winner in program history. At one point during his time on campus he held every school record. He is also a continued booster for the program.

"Raj has matured tremendously since college. It's been an absolute joy to work with him again, this time as a post-collegiate athlete," said Kinsey. "We have a good relationship and belief in one another that helps with achieving high goals. 2018 will be a great year for Raj."

Schedule

TRK | Pannu Qualifies for U.S. Championships

GAELS IN THE PROS

CHAMPIONS

HALL OF FAME

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