LAKEWOOD, CO- Josh Pierantoni has been at Colorado Christian since 2018, and throughout his time with the Cougars he has cemented himself as one of the best runners to ever compete for the cross country and track & field programs. With three All American honors last year alone, Pierantoni impresses every time he hits the track or course, displaying a tremendous amount of stamina and determination. This season, Josh is just running track & field, and on December 8-9, he did something truly special at the UCCS Pre-Holiday Invite.

Taking on a talented field of runners from the RMAC in the 3000m on Friday, Pierantoni blew the field away with a school record time of 7:57.69 to set an NCAA Provisional Qualifying Time and place himself at second in all of DII in the event. Head Coach Jon Poag talked about what he thought allowed Josh to shatter the program record so early in the season. 

"I think he was very eager to compete after not having raced all fall. At his core he is a competitor, so the excitement of racing was motivational," Poag said. "We would have loved to have Josh for one more year of XC, but the silver lining is that he was pretty fresh coming into these race efforts."

If the incredible run in the 3k was not enough to turn heads, Pierantoni came out the next day and took part in an even more grueling race in the 5000m. The graduate student showed incredible stamina and strength, winning the race with another program record time of 13:51.44 to put him fourth in division two in the difficult 5k. Running these events in consecutive days is extremely difficult, but Josh prepared well beforehand and the results certainly showed that. 

"It was a very challenging endeavor to race two distance races in the same 24-hour period. I knew that it would be difficult so I made a plan for how I would recover between races and was meticulous in how I executed that plan once I finished my 3k on Friday night," said Pierantoni. "My goal is to be able to compete well in both the 3k and the 5k at nationals and they will be on back-to-back days in that competition as well, so this was a great chance to practice that and show that I can run both races well on the same weekend." 

Pierantoni has been training all fall for this moment as he did not run cross country this season due to having already used all his eligibility in the sport. This certainly played a factor in the success early on in the season. 

"While these races came at the very beginning of indoor season, for me they happened at the end of a very long block of consistent training. After the outdoor championships at the end of May I took a short break and got right back into training." Pierantoni said. "This block looked different than usual since I was not able to be with the team in the same capacity as in previous years, but I was still able to get in lots of quality work that contributed to these two races. Not running cross country definitely had a positive impact on this weekend. Cross country can really tire out your legs and wear you down mentally. By not competing in cross country, I was able to get in more consistent training and take better care of my body while preparing for this track season."

With incredible times already posted in the first few weeks of the season, Poag anticipates some great things as the championships approach in 2024. 

"These results suggest Josh is one of the best 5k/3k athletes in DII, they will provide a lot of confidence in his build up to NCAA in March," said Poag. 

With one last spring left to compete at CCU, Pierantoni keeps the same mindset he came in with, and that is competing for his teammates and representing his school well. 

"My goals for this year are to represent CCU well at the national level and work with my teammates to build upon our success from previous years. The Cross-country team has found lots of success nationally, but our track team is still reaching for those heights," Pierantoni said. "I believe that the team we have this year is capable of being at the very top of D2 and that is a goal that motivates me as I approach my final season representing CCU." 

Josh is certainly a great representation of what it means to be a Cougar student-athlete, and he displays it at every meet he races in. It doesn't hurt that he is one of the best distance runners in all of DII as he is given a platform to share Christ's love to others and represent Colorado Christian at the highest level. As the season turns the page into a new year, look for Pierantoni to strive for even better records and as he pushes towards Nationals in both the 3k and the 5k.