NAMPA – Brody Kemble wasn't the fastest guy coming out of high school.

The Northwest Nazarene junior cross country runner finished 20th at the Idaho Class 4A state cross country championships in 2021.

He was lightly recruited and wasn't sure where he'd end up collegiately. Three years later, though, he is right where he wants to be – running for a Nighthawks men's program that is on the cusp of something special.

"It's not something I envisioned for myself," Kemble said. "Just the process of getting to where I am on this journey. It's not just me. Glory to God honestly. It's my faith and I can't do any of this without him, but also my coaches and teammates too.

"Without that support, none of this would happen. Without NNU taking a chance on me, none of this would have happened. This change wouldn't have happened for me doing it alone."

The Nighthawks men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday in Bellingham, Wash. The men will run the 8,000-kilometer course at Sudden Valley Golf Course at 10 a.m. PDT, while the women race on the 6,000-kilometer course at 11 a.m. PDT. All teams move on to the regional meet.

Kemble was a wrestler first and a runner second in high school, placing in the top five three times at the state wrestling championships. But with injuries piling up, he decided to pursue cross country at the next level.

He reached out to NNU and joined a program that has been on the rise the last few years but hasn't seen sustained success in nearly a quarter century.

"That first cross country season, I was impressed with his commitment, work ethic and coachability," said Greg Mitchell, NNU head track and field and cross country coach. "I definitely saw massive potential, but if you'd told me during his freshman cross country season that he would place second in both the 10,000 meters and the 5,000 meters the following spring (during track and field season) I would have expressed some disbelief.

"Something clicked during that first winter of training and he hasn't looked back."

Kemble has consistently written his names in the NNU record books since his freshman year. He has the third-fastest 8k time, 10th-fastest 10k time (cross country), plus school record times in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters (track and field).

"From the start, I think everyone could see that Brody was fast, but he was never content with that," teammate Aaron Heberlein said. "He had a strong base, but he worked hard to improve. In high school, he never really had a strong team to compete with – so I think the team we have now is something he doesn't take for granted.

"I get the sense that he puts the team's goals ahead of his own. He doesn't want to just win himself, he wants the team to win."

The Nighthawks finished fifth as a team at the GNAC meet a year ago, with Kemble crossing the line in seventh. With another year of training under their belts, NNU has hopes about potentially winning just the second conference team title in program history – men or women.

"We went from a team that had goals last year like placing in the top half of the conference and then seeing if we could be top 15 at regionals," he said. "Now, it's let's go compete for a conference title and get to nationals this year. I think it is maturity, but also the standards and expectations have changed.

"It is very exciting to be part of a team that is very competitive now."

Kemble leads a group that includes Ian Stockett, Carter Stedman, Grady Mylander, Asher Ingram, Micah Chi, Neftali Menendez and Heberlein.

"Often, top runners on cross country teams are caught up in their own goals and are not overly concerned about the other guys behind them," Mitchell said. "Brody, of course, has his own huge individual aspirations, but I have rarely seen someone so invested in the team aspect.

"We started talking his freshman year about building something successful and lasting as a cross country program here at NNU. He has been pretty fired up this season as the team begins to show that kind of promise."

NNU won the GNAC title in 2001, but in recent years the program has mostly featured individual success with Tyler Shea advancing to the national meet in 2019. The program has steadily improved thanks to the work of former cross country coach Ben Gall, former track and field head coach Danny Bowman and now with Mitchell.

Runners like Kemble don't hurt either.

"The training and programs I've been put into have allowed me to do what I'm doing now," said Kemble, a kinesiology major with an emphasis in sports management. "I didn't expect this. Whether it is the times I'm running or how I'm competing – it is not something envisioned, but I'm very happy with the way things are turning out."