Cross Country at Malone University has a long history of success. Coach
Jack Hazen came to Malone in 1967. The year before before his arrival, the cross country team was cancelled because there were not enough runners for the team to compete. During Coach Hazen's first year, he had to travel through the dorms to find a fifth runner so the team could even take part in any competitions. Under Hazen's guidance the following season, Malone qualified for NAIA Nationals. Including that year, the Malone men's cross country team has won the national qualifying meet for a remarkable forty-three straight years. Perhaps a streak that is unrivaled in college athletics.
The program progressed as the years went on. Year after year, Malone started to compete in larger and larger meets. Eventually both the men and women's teams began running in primarily Division I meets against prominent national powers including Stanford, Oregon, Michigan, Penn State, and Notre Dame. The Malone teams still run against some of the best competition in the nation and continue to experience success in meets that are primarily made-up of Division I competition.
One of the meets that Malone competes in every year is the Ohio Intercollegiate. All of the colleges and universities in the state of Ohio compete in this meet each season. Malone's men's team is the only non-Division I school to win the overall meet title, a feat the Pioneers have accomplished eight times.
Malone Cross Country has won five NAIA National Championships, four times on the men's side and once on the women's. The men's team won an NAIA title in 1972, in 2007 by the second largest margin of victory in NAIA history, in 2008, and in 2009 to complete a three-peat. The women's team won a national title in 1999.
