CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – With the end of the Outdoor Track and Field Championships we are also at the official end of the school year.

Graduation was a few weeks ago, but sports continued on.

What a year it was for the NNU athletics department.

In the fall, the women's soccer team finished with a .500 record, which was just the second time since 2001.

In the winter, the women's basketball team advanced to the second round of the national tournament, was ranked No. 1 in the country at one point, and won the GNAC tournament title. The men's basketball team won 20 games for the first time since 2001 and reached the second round of the conference tournament. And in indoor track and field, Lexi Tubbs and Jake Knight reached the national meet.

In the spring, the baseball team made the conference tournament for the fourth time in five years, the softball team advanced to the playoffs for just the second time in program history and Ellie Logan and Jake Knight capped it all off with All-American finishes at the track meet.

It's been a fun year, but personally, I'm ready for a break.

A quick plug for some of the fun stuff we've done throughout the school year. You can access all the feature stories written on our athletes here, check out our series called Fresh Eyes, which follows four freshmen as they navigate athletics and school, and our series of Letters to My Freshman Self, which features senior athletes reflecting on their careers.

OK. Enough tooting my own horn. Thanks for following along and see you in a few weeks.
 
OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• Ellie Logan chose Mexican food and she chose well. I'm not sure the name of the restaurant or even what town we were in, but they had homemade ground beef, enchilada sauce and tortillas. The only downside was the queso was brutal. They should step their game up in that regard.
• Ellie's dad and Jake Knight's dad joined us for dinner. I noticed they both sat as far away from me as possible. I guess they didn't want to get featured in Behind the Scenes.
• The most excited Ellie was all day was when I hooked up to our Tahoe's Bluetooth and played Oscar's rap song. He immediately put on his shades and tried to go to sleep. Ellie was cheering and punching the seat in front of her, while Jake had somehow already learned some of the words and was singing along. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
• Ellie apparently has homework to do tonight. No rest for the weary.
• Ellie's dad ordered a half lemonade and a half tea, which may be why Ellie orders half sweet tea and half unsweet tea. Though she ordered just sweet tea tonight. Hard to tell what she's all about with her tea.
• Jake and his dad swung by the beach today. They got to experience what I hate about Texas beaches – you can drive on them. Lots of cars parked on the beach with people tailgating. Tough to swim or lounge on a towel, etc., when people are driving all over the place.
• Jersey style for eating fajitas apparently involves putting your tortilla on the table. Seems to be putting a lot of trust in a restaurant's cleanliness.
• Ellie told me recently she doesn't know if she will stay in Nampa or go home to Fossil, Oregon, this summer. Her dad told us at dinner that her summer plans at home involve using an excavator to pull weeds (junipers). Sounds fun?
• Jake is a big fly fishing aficionado. He wouldn't tell me his favorite spots to go, but his dream places to fish include Pyramid Lake in Nevada, as well as fishing in Argentina, New Zealand and Canada. Now that college is over, he will have some more time on his hands.
• There have been really high winds the entire time we've been in South Texas and unfortunately a man died in a riptide on Friday. The only reason I mention this is because he died swimming on the same island that we were using as our base for jet skiing. No riptides on our side as far as we could tell.
• Cleaning out my notepad here and I realized I didn't tell Ellie's story of her hometown. Fossil is named Fossil because of all the fossils in the area. Apparently, a hill above her school's football field is covered in said fossils and she grew up sledding on it. Eventually the tourists got mad, so they had to stop.
• The one thing we were all looking forward to at the end of the meet was to come back to our hotel and take a shower. I joked with Ellie that the water pressure would be even worse since all five of us would be showering. She said she didn't think it was too bad in comparison to the water pressure at her house. Apparently, their ranch is fed by a spring, which sounds pretty stinking cool to me.
• In other news, when I got back to my room it appears my cleaning lady quit midway through. My bed was stripped of sheets, my pillows were on the floor and my bedding was piled high. No garbage was taken out and I had no towels. It was pretty defeating. To say the Hampton Inn in North Corpus Christi leaves a lot to be desired would be an understatement.
• And last but not least, a shoutout to my wife Veronica, who celebrated her 36th birthday at home today. Happy birthday, Vero!

Behind the Scenes III: The Next Episode (4:30 p.m. May 25 update)
KINGSVILLE, Texas – At lunch Saturday, Oscar Duncan and I were discussing how an athlete gets over just missing winning a huge meet.

NNU's Ellie Logan was second in the javelin Saturday after being just two throwers away from winning the national title.

Duncan explained that he looked at meets two different ways in his career – one as an unbeliever and one as a believer.

After he became a Christian, before every meet he would ask God why he was there. As Duncan said, God doesn't really care about the javelin but there could be things you can learn about yourself and your relationships at a track and field meet.
He related a story about the time he was competing at a professional meet in Scotland in the javelin against some of the top throwers in the world. Right before the competition a young boy asked for his autograph.

Now, Duncan was far from the most famous athlete at this meet, but the kid asked him and even though he was trying to get mentally focused to compete he decided to sign.
Suddenly, 50 kids were crowding the fence line asking for autographs.

He then explained he'd sign after the competition, though the crowd
was not convinced.

He went out and was worked over by the top throwers, but afterward stayed for an hour and signed all the autographs the kids asked for. He tried to offer encouragement with each signature.

The way he sees it, he wasn't there just to compete that day, but to offer encouragement to youngsters and show them that someone cares.
 
OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• The coffee situation on this trip has been abysmal, though I haven't complained as much as I normally would since we might as well be staying on the sun. This morning when I came down to get some of the coffee in the lobby, I poured some in my cup only to notice too late that they had switched where the decaf and the robust were located. So, I poured out the decaf and got a cup of robust. Then I went to add half-n-half and discovered too late they had switched where the half-n-half and skim milk were located. So, I poured that out and got a new cup of robust. I went to pour some half-n-half in and a bunch of water that was trapped in the lid went in instead. I poured that out and decided to skip the coffee. Thankfully, Danny took me to Starbucks on the way to the meet.
• Texas A&M Kingsville has a Chick-fil-A, Subway and Pizza Hut in its student commons area. Guessing they kind of have to since there appears to be nowhere else to eat in town. It's a bit of a depressing place. Makes Nampa look downright cosmopolitan.
• Neither Oscar or Danny have ever coached a national champion. Danny has been coaching for 14 years and Oscar for 13.
• Ellie gets to choose where we eat dinner tonight. Remember, Ellie, Mexican food is really good here and it would be a travesty if we left Texas without trying some.

Behind the Scenes III: The Next Episode (9:30 p.m. May 24 update)
KINGSVILLE, Texas – One of the best parts about working at a small college is the camaraderie and relationships you can build with coaches and athletes.

There are obviously schools of all sizes here at the national championships and it's interesting to listen to some of the exchanges between athletes and coaches and administrators. It's easy to see that some of the Sports Information Directors have no relationship whatsoever with their athletes or that the kids even know who they are.

Now, I don't profess to know every single athlete at NNU, but I'd guess I know all of their names and they'd recognize me.

At any rate, Friday was a fun example of what I'm talking about. While Jake Knight was throwing the discus, teammate Ellie Logan volunteered to shoot video so that I could worry about photos. Coach Danny Bowman was providing me with results and analysis, while throws coach Oscar Duncan and Jake's dad, John an assistant coach, coached Jake.

That's some solid hands-on activity for the entire group that is in attendance. I highly doubt many of the other teams here have those type of relationships, which is why I work at NNU and not somewhere else.
 
OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• When we were leaving the hotel to head to the track meet, we ran into Ellie's dad in the lobby. He immediately brokered a pig sale with Oscar. Ellie responded by walking away mid-conversation and telling her dad she'd see him at the meet.
• On the way to the meet, Jake Knight listened to his headphones, while Oscar immediately fell asleep and snored. His ability to just fall asleep is pretty impressive.
• I may have mentioned that it is 10 billion degrees here once or twice before. So, you can imagine our surprise when Oscar mentioned that his room was too cold when he checked in so he turned on the heater.
• When we arrived at the meet, we scored a parking spot that overlooked the discus area. It was a perfect chance to enjoy some AC while watching the first flight. We were initially tempted to stay in the rig and watch Jake perform, but figured we should probably get out.
• There are two type of airline travelers – those who recline their seats and those who don't. I've never flown with Danny, but I can guess what way he leans in the great airline debate after he leaned his car seat back directly into my knee when we parked at the meet.
• While both Oscar and Danny know CPR, they informed me that if I passed out from heat stroke they would not help me. Cool story, guys.
• After we left the meet to go to dinner, Danny took us on some backroads. We were certainly out in the sticks and the only person who appeared comfortable was Ellie. At one point, the lady talking on the phone giving directions said "GPS signal lost."
• Oscar spent a good chunk of the drive playing Candy Crush, which he informed us is a good puzzle to keep your mind sharp. He is on level 340.
• After a rousing discussion about the music scene in Jersey in the 1980s and early 1990s at dinner, Oscar accidentally let slip that he once recorded a rap song for his wife for their 11th anniversary. We of course hounded him to sing us some of the song, but after claiming his wife still had the CD and his kids know all the lyrics, he said he didn't know the words and refused to serenade us. Eventually, though, we convinced him to text his wife and send us a recording. She delivered and we all jammed out to "Living Good, Loving God." It was actually really good. Props to Oscar. If you want to listen to it, it'll be on the NNUSports Instagram account's story function for 24 hours.

Behind the Scenes III: The Next Episode (12:30 p.m. May 24 update)
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – It's competition day.

And every competition day has a certain routine to it.

For Jake Knight it starts with breakfast in the hotel lobby, then relaxing in his room doing a little visualization and typically trying to just rest.

Then it's a trip to a sub shop for lunch before a bit more rest time and then he heads to the site of the meet.

At the Indoor National Championships earlier this year, that was the first out-of-town trip for Knight with the Nighthawks and it was a bit difficult because there was no routine.

This trip to Texas is his sixth overnight trip of the year and Knight and his entourage have things a bit more dialed in. Though he didn't get his customary Jimmy John's, instead having to settle for Jersey Mike's (no word if that is because Jersey native Oscar Duncan forced the issue or not).

We'll see how the change in sub sandwiches effects his marks later.
 
OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• Ellie Logan has gone out of her way to stop talking, which has reduced her appearances in Behind the Scenes. I'll try to change that this afternoon.
• We had a rousing discussion about the NBA on the drive today. I've never met so many NBA fans, frankly. Everyone was very impressed with the play of Kawhi Leonard in last night's Toronto win against Milwaukee.
• Speaking of the NBA, Oscar told me he has some insider knowledge that Anthony Davis is headed to the Lakers. He claims he has a former Lakers executive on speed dial.
• Our fancy new camera has been fixed. Danny and I went to a local camera store to see if they could figure out what was wrong with it. The worker discovered that the auto focus slide was not put in correctly, though he said he had never worked with this type of camera before. He immediately went to YouTube, which is not the most comforting thing to see from a camera specialist. He still couldn't figure it out until eventually I pointed out how to lower the frame that you put the auto focus slide in. He didn't charge us.
• While it is a pleasant 91 degrees outside, the humidity seems lower today which should make the track meet a bit better. The steady 20 mph wind we've had the entire trip is still blowing as well.
• One of the hotel workers asked me what event I was competing in at the meet. So, at least someone out there a) thinks I still look like a college student; and b) inexplicably thinks I look like an athlete. She's my new favorite Hampton employee.
• Our hotel's view is a tad lacking, as my room overlooks the roof and a freeway. A bit different than in San Diego for the women's basketball national tournament where you could see a greenbelt and a lot of palm trees. Of course, Corpus Christi is certainly no Southern California. Ask Danny for a history lesson on South Texas to learn more about this depressing area.

Behind the Scenes III: The Next Episode (9 p.m. May 23 update)
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – When NNU track and field coach Danny Bowman told us we'd be going jet skiing on the Gulf of Mexico as our trip activity, I was a bit skeptical.

I like swimming to whatever degree, but wasn't so sure about riding a personal watercraft around on the open ocean.

When we got to the Port Aransas marina and met our guide we were informed that three people had to ride the jet skis across a channel to an island where he would anchor his boat and set up a base camp.

Bowman immediately grabbed one wave runner and Ellie Logan jumped for another. That left Jake Knight, Oscar Duncan and myself. None of us had ever ridden a jet ski and after Jake declined, Oscar pressured me into doing it.

While I was initially irritated, let me tell you, jet skis are pretty stinking cool. Once I figured out how to steer I was off to the races, though I topped out at 33 mph while Bowman got his machine up to 48 mph. He also caught some huge air on the wake of the boat.

Duncan and Knight eventually took their turns on the machines and a good time was had by all. I checked off a bucket list item I didn't even know I had.
 
OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• Speaking of the jet skis, Duncan is an East Coast guy through and through. He told me once he was more Notorious B.I.G. than Tupac. So, when I saw him racing his jet ski across the Gulf, all I could think about was Biggie in the Hypnotize video.
• While Jake would rather be fly fishing than anywhere else, he doesn't actually eat fish. He is straight up catch and release.
• Our hotel doesn't have water in the lobby, despite it being 1 million degrees outside. They do have coffee all day, though. I can't imagine hot coffee is very popular with people staying here, but who knows.
• In semi-related news, Ellie eats the lemon that comes with her water at restaurants rather than putting it into her drink.
• Ellie also ordered a half sweet half unsweet tea at Whataburger, which thoroughly confused the locals.
• According to Oscar, the best way to know if a restaurant makes good pizza is if they put anchovies on it. The Island Italian Restaurant in Port Aransas did just that, though he didn't order a pizza with anchovies.
• In our Tahoe, the seating setup is like this: Danny behind the wheel, Jake in shotgun, me behind Danny, Oscar behind Jake, the javelins running down the middle and Ellie in a jumper seat thing behind Oscar. Being the nice guy that he is, Oscar decided to sit in the way back on the way to dinner. He was forced to sit sideways because he couldn't fit. He immediately fell asleep and when we got to the restaurant, he just had Danny open the trunk and he rolled himself out.
• Danny is one of those drivers who needs to use an exit only lane during rush hour. So, instead of getting line, he races up until the last possible minute and forces his way over.
• Upon leaving dinner, Jake decided he wanted ice cream. Ellie Googled some locations and found one located in downtown Corpus Christi. We weren't really sure where we were going, considering all of the buildings had bars on the windows and there were absolutely no pedestrians, but if you get a chance to try Double Dipt you should do it. They have homemade ice cream that Jake, Ellie and Danny all said was amazing. I got Blue Bell and Oscar waited for his cookie at the hotel.

Behind the Scenes III: The Next Episode (10 a.m. May 23 update)
KINGSVILLE, Texas – It was an early start to our first day in Texas.

The track facility is opened up for a few hours for practice before the decathlon and heptathlon begin, so we left the hotel at 6:50 to drive the 40 minutes to Texas A&M Kingsville.

Javelina Stadium was built in the 1950s and holds 12,000 people. It is a very nice setup and both Jake Knight and Ellie Logan were pleased with the venue.

Ellie practiced throwing the javelin for about 20 minutes before doing some workouts in the weight room. Jake threw the discus a handful of times and then went and viewed the shot put ring, but didn't throw.

While it is extremely hot and humid here there has been a pretty steady 20 mph wind that keeps things reasonably cooler. That wind could also make a big difference in marks this weekend for both Jake and Ellie.

The rest of today will be a hangout day as we will head to lunch and then participate in our team activity, which Danny Bowman is keeping a secret.

I'll check back in after said activity, because it promises to be pretty epic.
 
OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• A correction from last night's update. Apparently, Ellie Logan isn't selling pigs, but giving them away. I should have known a Lonesome Dove fan wouldn't sell pigs.
• Speaking of pigs, Danny Bowman raised a pig named Chester when he was growing up for a 4H club he was a part of. His least favorite part was having to put sunscreen on it. I've heard of putting lipstick on a pig, but not sunscreen.
• Ellie raised a crossbreed of York and Hampshire pigs growing up for 4H and even taught one of them to play fetch with a broomstick. She now has pot bellied pigs.
• In other animal news, I have yet to see a goat. I guess they all live in El Paso, Texas.
• It's Oscar's 21-year wedding anniversary.
• The first cross country meet that Oscar ever coached took place in a nor'easter in Connecticut. It was raining so hard that a giant lake-like puddle was created on the course. One of his best runners ran through the knee deep water and when he came around the corner to where Oscar was standing, he said he'd lost a shoe. So, Oscar went over and fished it out. When the kid came back around Oscar showed him the shoe. Apparently, it was the wrong shoe, so the kid finished the race with one shoe on.
• The awesome new (refurbished) camera that the NNU athletics department purchased earlier this week is … broken. So, if you see me taking photos of our athletes with my cell phone, well, now you know. We'll see if we can get it repaired before Friday's action.

Behind the Scenes III: The Next Episode (9:45 p.m. May 22 update)
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – While the athletes are in Corpus Christi to compete at the national meet, there are activities that happen throughout the weekend.

On Wednesday evening, we went to the annual banquet that the host school puts on for the athletes, coaches and other hangers on.

What made this year's banquet unique is it was hosted on the USS Lexington aircraft carrier. The ship had a variety of self-guided tours set up and we wandered all over the place – up steep ladders, through low ceilinged corridors, into rooms where no AC has ever graced their walls and eventually onto the flight deck where they had some old planes.

It was a really cool experience.

We chose not to stay for the dinner, though, partly because it was at least 10,000 degrees in the ship and partly because Oscar Duncan claimed that all they would be serving is Hot Pockets which is apparently what he ate at the indoor championships banquet.

Hosting an event for nearly 800 people is always a challenge, but hats off to Texas A&M Kingsville for not just having it on campus but using a cool locale.
 
OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• I've finally found something that Jake Knight is not talented at – whistling. We had a sort of a whistling contest in the car back to the hotel and he definitely finished last.
• While shopping at Target for groceries, Oscar Duncan was walking along telling a story and accidentally trucked a small child. Thankfully there were no injuries either way.
• Danny Bowman told me he always drives on all trips because he gets car sick. Well, after riding with him for a while Wednesday I'd posit that his driving makes other folks car sick.
• Ellie Logan is not only in Texas to compete at the track meet, but she is also doing some side work. She sold two pigs Wednesday, one to Oscar and one to Jake's girlfriend.
• When we arrived at our hotel, Danny told us that the water pressure in the showers is terrible. Which immediately made me think of the classic Seinfeld episode where Kramer's hair is ruined by a low flow shower head.
• In related news, Danny spent a good five minutes at Target trying to find hair gel. He opens each one to make sure no one has messed with the gel. Not sure if the gel will fix the low flow problems.

Behind the Scenes III: The Next Episode (May 22, 12:20 p.m. update)
DALLAS-FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT – If you haven't met Northwest Nazarene assistant track and field coach Oscar Duncan you are missing out.

Duncan is the true definition of a character.

He has an anecdote for everything and a comment for more.

When he learned about Behind the Scenes he claimed he was going to give me the silent treatment. That lasted about five minutes.

Then he was regaling us with a story about his skills as a pastry chef.

Duncan claims to cook a mean pound cake as well as a great quiche.

His sister is a professional chef, though Duncan claims he is a better cook.

His daughters own a side business called the Duncan Divas where they make cupcakes to order.

He's so dedicated to dessert that he made sure to find a Dunkin' Donuts at DFW, proclaiming them as the best donuts money can buy.

At lunch, he told us a story about visiting his grandma Jennie Mae in Butler, Georgia in the summers growing up.

Jenny Mae would set up a hot plate and sell hamburgers to passing drivers and people who lived in government housing across the street.

Oscar and his cousins would set on the front porch, take orders, collect the money, go buy more burgers and soda and just enjoy those glorious Southern summer evenings.

For a second, it makes you think Duncan really is a food connoisseur until you remember that earlier this week he ordered a seafood sensation at Subway in Nampa.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• Ellie's favorite dessert is her grandmother's apple pie. Oscar loves his wife's apple pie and his grandma's pound cake. Jake prefers his grandma's cheesecake. I loved apple pie growing up, but don't really eat a lot of dessert these days. Thinking my doubledecker fudge is my favorite.
• Speaking of food, the NCAA hosts a mandatory banquet on Wednesday evening for all the athletes and the folks in the traveling party. And when I say mandatory, think $200 fines per person if you miss. We land in Corpus Christi at 4 and the dinner is at 5:30. Ellie initially was hoping we'd get delayed so we would miss it, but when she heard it is being held on an aircraft carrier she changed her mind.
• For lunch, Oscar and Ellie had BBQ and Jake and I had Smash Burger. Oscar has been talking about Texas BBQ all week. Personally, I'd rather get some TexMex, but that will be fodder for a later update.
• Oscar grew up in New Jersey and has strong opinions about New York, which he calls Jersey's penal colony. I'd guess most of the rest of America would reverse the states in that statement.
• I've never flown American Airlines, but after sitting in the exit row I give it two thumbs up. They also had free WiFi and free in-seat entertainment.
• Weather will be a major factor in this week's travels. The second we landed in Dallas you could feel the humidity. It's just downright sticky here. It's supposed to be in the low 90s with high humidity in Kingsville during the track and field meet.

Wednesday, May 22, 9:30 a.m. update
NAMPA, Idaho – In my past life as a sports writer, I was a bit of a rare bird in that I liked covering track and field.

I'd guess something like 85 percent of sports writers despise covering track. Partly because there is so much going partly because it is less straightforward than sports like basketball or football partly because sports writers as a whole are generally a complaining, sour lot and partly because it can be hard to cobble together stories from so many disparate events.

While I still have to ask coaches whether or not the mark I just witnessed was a good one or not, I love covering track mainly because I like telling stories.

Track is great for stories. In any individual sport – I also loved covering wrestling – you get to really know the athletes and find out what makes them tick.

So, when NNU athletic director Kelli Lindley asked if I'd be willing to go to the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships, I promptly answered yes.

I've covered a lot of good track and field meets in my life, being blessed to live in the Northwest when Eugene, Ore., was hosting the Olympic Trials every year.

A quick list of the best meets I've ever covered:

1. 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials – I was there to cover decathlete Tom Pappas for the Grants Pass, Ore., newspaper. My favorite race, though, was Boise's Nick Symmonds rallying to win the 800 meters in stunning fashion. I covered Symmonds a bit when he was in high school at Bishop Kelly, so it was cool to see him earn a spot in the Olympics.

2. 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials – I was there to cover a variety of athletes with Washington connections for the Tri-City Herald newspaper in Eastern Washington. That trials will be remembered for Ashton Eaton setting the world record in the decathlon, Galen Rupp sweeping the 5k and 10k titles and the controversy over the tie between Jeneba Tarmoh and Allyson Felix for third place in the 100 and who would go to the Olympics.

3. 2007 Texas high school state meet – Not only did I get to cover five state champions for the Odessa American, but I saw Robert Griffin III (RGIII) set the meet record in the 110 hurdles and the state record in the 300 hurdles.

4. 2014 Washington high school state meet – I covered Kamiakin's Ellie Heiden wrapping up her amazing career with two golds, one silver and a bronze making her the second most decorated athlete in state history. I also witnessed Wentachee's Isaiah Brandt-Sims become the first to win the 100 and 200 all four years in Class 4A.

5. 2002 Idaho high school state meet – While working at the Idaho Press-Tribune, I covered Skyview's Julene Bailey set the overall pole vault record which still stands today, as well as covering Nick Symmonds win three titles, Nampa Christian's Danielle Pridgen win two titles and Eagle's Donovan Kilmartin win four titles despite suffering from food poisoning.
Honorable mention: A slew of Pasco Invites, the West Texas Relays and any Region I high school meets in Texas.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

• With only five people on this trip, I'm not sure how many updates I'll be able to provide. Especially since Ellie Logan and Jake Knight don't exactly talk a lot.
• The NCAA loves to make people fly out at awful hours. Nothing like arising at 5 a.m. to fly to Texas.
• Head coach Danny Bowman flew to Texas on Tuesday for meetings, while assistant coach Oscar Duncan, myself, Jake and Ellie are flying Wednesday. No one knows what seats Danny chose for us. Hopefully I have a window seat and I'm not next to Jake, who is ginormous.
• The one benefit to leaving so early is I'm that much closer to eating queso. I miss TexMex food so much. It was the best part of living in Texas, other than meeting my wife of course.
• I'll be back this afternoon during our layover in Dallas where I will hopefully get some Whataburger.