First national letter of intent signed by exceptional athlete

PLNU’s track and cross-country teams have landed a dynamic runner, Josie Frye from Clovis, California, for the 2015 Fall season.

Frye, who signed the school’s first official National Letter of Intent (NLOI) with the Sea Lions, brings a hard work ethic supplemented with great athletic ability, said Head Coach Jerry Arvin.

“Just in conversation back and forth with her, I knew that she was a great fit for us and she was what we were looking for,” said Arvin. “Because we weren’t looking for just a runner, we never look for just an athlete [primarily]. They need to have the other two components. They need to want to be in a situation where Christ is centered around them continually and they have to have the strong academics for them to be successful here, otherwise we’re doing them a disservice.”

Along with these attributes, Frye brings impressive track times to the table. She ran the 3200-meter in 11:26.45, good for a second place finish out of 18 other athletes in last year’s West Coast Relays—one of the biggest meets in the California central section, boasting 32 athletes with top 100 performances in the United States during the 2014 event. Subsequently, she placed an impressive 10th place out of 79 other competitors while posting a sub 11-minute time – her personal best – at the Adidas’ Champions Distance Classic.

Additionally, her personal best time in the 3200 meter puts her in seventh place on the Buchanon High School girl’s all-time list for the race. Coach Arvin said Frye is one of the fastest 3200 runners he has seen while coaching at PLNU.

“With 28 years of experience working with athletes here, working with collegiate athletes, working a lot with the same teams just not at the Division II level, I can tell you for all of the other girls that we have ever gotten, the only girl who came in with faster times than Josie is Alex [Hernandez] for the 3200,” Arvin said.

Freshman Alex Hernandez said she’s excited to run with her due to the competitiveness of their personal track times.

“I think she’s going to contribute so much,” said Hernandez. “Obviously during meets with her really great times, but also during practice because she’s capable of running such great times. During practice, she’s probably going to set a new bar that can help all of us get even more competitive…I am excited to train with her because I think our 3200 times are similar, and because of that, I think we can make the team even better together.”

Two of Frye’s fellow athletes signed NLOIs with Arizona State University and the University of Nebraska. Despite the possibility of playing for a Division I school, Frye said she wanted to come to PLNU for their athletic and academic programs.

“Running-wise, Point Loma just seemed like a great fit for me. I had talked with Coach Arvin my junior year as I began my college searching and there was just something about that program that always stuck out to me,” said Frye via email. “Also, I knew I wanted to go to a college where there was a healthy balance between academics and athletics and I feel like Division I universities tend to tip the balance in favor of athletics.”

After visiting PLNU Oct. 5 2014, Frye said she bonded well with the team and looks forward to joining the cross-country and track programs for the Fall season.

“I was really nervous coming to Point Loma for my official visit. But, I met my host, Hallie Swenson, and later on the whole team. They were all so welcoming,” said Frye. “The team dynamic was so fun and chill; I just really wanted to be a part of what was going on in that team. I remember when I first met Alex and she was just really happy to meet me, enthusiastic, really nice and super funny. I met these girls and was super stoked to be on their team.”