HENDERSON, Nev. (November 22, 2021) – Hopes were high for the College of Southern Nevada Men's-and-Women's Cross Country programs entering their debut season.
 
CSN expected to be competitive and Coyotes coach Bryan Astudillo wanted his teams to challenge for higher goals than just merely running through their events, chalking any results up to experience. Instead, Southern Nevada powered to heights that were truly remarkable, leading to CSN being nationally-ranked in both programs and having runners compete at the NJCAA National Championships.
 
Looking back at the Fall 2021 season, Astudillo said Southern Nevada's accomplishments were remarkable.
 
"This fall season has been very special for us as this was our first in program history," he said. "I couldn't have asked for better athletes to start the program, and I think every single one of them had a very successful season."
 
CSN opened its debut season on September 3 at a meet hosted by the College of Southern Idaho, eventually powering to compete in six events throughout the season. By the time the Coyotes and Lady Coyotes competed in Southern California in late October, in a meet held by Cal State Fullerton, Astudillo noted how CSN had developed into a blooming power.
 
"Our highlight performance was at the Titan Invitational, where all the athletes saw what hard work does with everyone running a personal best at that meet," he said. "Our Men's team ran a season-best time as well, posting a 28:08 team average. Because of those results, our teams were then able to be placed in the national polls the week after."
 
Besides building the culture of a program in competition, Astudillo and the debut CSN runners started to build the framework of a team – a living, breathing collection of individuals who relate to each other. Whether it be activities that featured team-building or participating in culturally-enriching activities such as enjoying New York City on a long travel layover, the CSN coach is hopeful to continue adding strong runners to this competitive group.
 
"We have a total of 30 athletes committed to our program next year," he said. "I do hope to keep talking to our local athletes and would love to have that number over 40. I will be looking to go around our community and let all our young athletes know what we have at CSN and what we can offer at CSN."
 
The opportunities at Southern Nevada are many, especially thanks to the ever-growing support of Southern Nevadans to support CSN Athletics. In his words with CSNCoyotes.com, Astudillo stated how appreciative he is of the support his young program has already received.
 
"I thank Coyote Nation for all its support and am looking forward to making our community proud of what we have growing," he said. "Also, if you are an athlete and want to run with us, I would love to talk to you about how great of an opportunity it would be to get a degree from CSN and be an athlete at the same time while working on your degree. I'm proud to be a Coyote."