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Celebrity Runners

Santa Claus - yes, the Claus will be present at the race, but donning running shorts instead of red pants and boots. He is surprisingly fast, and he has told us that he is training for this event. Catch him if you can!

Mike Herndon – set records for the Eagles in the late 70s and early 80s. Herndon’s most notable performance was his school record 14:29 5000m run in Louisiana in 1981. This record stood for 28 years, and was finally broken in the spring of 2008 by Jordan Powell with a 14:21 at the Stanford Invitational.

Dr. Herndon is still an active runner and physician in the Oklahoma City area. He and his wife Jolynn live in Edmond.

Jeff Bennett - A native of Vinita, Okla., Bennett was a member of 1972 U.S. Olympic team, placing fourth in the decathlon with 7,974 points at the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. He set a personal record of 8,121 points when he won the American Amateur Union’s national decathlon championship in 1973.

Bennett won NAIA national championships in the decathlon in both 1969 and 1970. In 1968, he was the NAIA national champion in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles and was runnerup in the pole vault in 1970.

The four-time NAIA All-American still holds Oklahoma Christian records in the 400 hurdles (51.44) and the decathlon (8,071 points). He was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1976 and was a charter honoree of the OC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991.

Josh Wayland - A new OC Alumn (2009), Wayland ran brilliantly for the Eagles for four years in both Cross-country and Track. In his last track season, Wayland won the NAIA National Championship in the Indoor 1000m run, and set OC school records indoors in the 800m (1:52.25), 1000m (2:25.88), and Distance Medley Relay (9:52.55 indoors and 9:44.62 outdoors).

Wayland is a native of Olathe, KS, and currently serves the OC Athletic Department as the Sports Information Director.

Jordan Powell - A new OC Alumn (2009), Powell placed 4th at the 2008 NAIA National Cross-Country Championships, the highest placing in OC Cross-country history. He also placed 10th the previous season. In his last track season, Powell set school records in the indoor mile school (4:06.63) and 3000m (8:16.76), and anchored the Distance Medley Relay team to a runner-up finish and school record 9:52.55. On the outdoor track Powell broke Mike Herndon's 29-year-old 5000m school record by running a brilliant 14:21.44 at the Stanford Invitational.

Powell is a native of Edmond, OK, and ran for Edmond Memorial High School. He is currently finishing a degree in nursing at OC.

Sam Dech - At age 30, Sam is continuing to set personal best times at all distances. He recently joined the sub-1:50 club in the 800m, and lowered his 1500m best to a U.S. Nationals qualifying mark of 3:43.19. Dech works for Delta Dental by day, and assists with coaching duties in cross-country and track at Oklahoma Christian University.