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Malone College men’s and women’s cross country head coach Jack Hazen was recently appointed as the United States men’s head coach for the U.S. Junior Pan Am Games, which will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil July 6-9, 2007.  Hazen was awarded this prestigious appointment by his peers at the U.S.A. Track & Field Association’s annual national convention in Indianapolis, Indiana in December.

The Pan American games are a continental version of the Olympic Games and are conducted every four years, always one year before the Olympics.  The U.S. Junior Pan Am Team consists of athletes up to the age of college freshmen.  In a letter notifying Hazen of his selection, John Chaplin, U.S.A. Track & Field Men’s Chair, states, “Your selection is a testimony of your dedication to the sport and of the many accomplishments you have achieved during your career in athletics. Being chosen by your peers makes this honor even more important.”

Among his numerous national appointments, Hazen had previously been selected as the Team Leader for the U.S. men’s team at the 1999 Junior Pan Am Games and as the head distance coach for the United States at the 2005 World Track & Field Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Hazen also previously served as the U.S. Men’s Head Coach at both the 1992 World Cross Country Championships in Boston, Massachusetts and the 1996 World Cross Country Championships in Cape Town, South Africa.   In addition, Hazen’s long-time friend and world renowned distance coach Joe Vigil, former coach at the NAIA’s Adams State (CO) College, was selected as the Assistant Coach for the U.S. Olympic Distance Team which will compete in Beijing, China in the summer of 2008.