PLNU Athletics

Jake Poyner was hired as Director of Cross Country and Track & Field ahead of the 2024-25 school year, leading Point Loma to immediate success.

In his first cross country season in 2024, PLNU posted its best PacWest and NCAA West Regional finishes since 2018, placing third at the conference meet before finishing seventh at the NCAA West Regional. The team also won the Cougar Challenge for its first meet victory since 2018.

Then in track & field in 2025, Poyner led PLNU to its best team finish at the PacWest Championships since 2019, tying its second best finish in program history. Three new school records were set in the 5K, 10K and 4x100 meters, while Maddie Reeves competed at the NCAA Championships in the 10K. The team put together 25 Top-10 performances in events in program history, to go along with two individual PacWest titles.
 
Poyner comes to The Point from NCAA Division I Louisiana Monroe, where he served as head cross country coach and assistant track & field coach this past year after spending the previous four seasons in the same role at Grace College.
 
"It has obviously been a long time since we have had to find a new leader for both programs and I feel very fortunate that Jake has chosen to accept this position," Athletic Director Ethan Hamilton said at the time of his hiring. "I believe that Jake will be a tremendous fit for our university, athletics department and most importantly with our student-athletes."

This past year, Poyner was named Louisiana Sports Writers Association Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year after leading ULM to a third-place finish at the Sun Belt Championships, its best finish since joining the conference in 2006.
 
Poyner's men's cross country squad had the highest GPA (3.57) of any male sports team at ULM in 2023-24, while both the men's and women's teams competed in the NCAA regional and posted their best combined finish since 2001.
 
He also coached the men's distance medley relay to the SBC indoor title, helping the Warhawks score their most points at an indoor championship in 15 years.
 
"I would like to thank Athletic Director Ethan Hamilton, Associate Head Coach Avery Takata and the Point Loma hiring committee for this incredible opportunity," Poyner said. "As we begin working towards continued growth and competitive output within the PacWest, the NCAA and the great state of California, I am both humbled and ecstatic for what's in store."
 
At Grace, he coached a total of 62 NAIA All-American performances, including the men's and women's 4x800 meter relay NAIA indoor national champions in 2023.
 
He led both Lancer cross country teams to consecutive NAIA National Championship appearances and NCCAA national titles in 2021 and 2022, with both teams finishing in the top-10 at the NAIA Championships in his final season.
 
"I cannot wait to meet the team and get started immediately within a community and department built around 'the right stuff' — Christ-centered character, authenticity in community, academic excellence, and competitive growth," Poyner said. "I believe our unwavering commitment to those pillars of the process is and will be absolutely essential.
 
"I also believe that commitment aligns wonderfully with our vision and ambition to compete at the highest level within the PacWest Conference and the NCAA."
 
In 2022-23, Grace was ranked eighth in the USTFCCCA Program of the Year rankings, the first time the program had been ranked in school history.
 
Poyner also previously earned USTFCCCA Great Lakes Regional Assistant Coach of the Year honors in both indoor and outdoor track & field.
 
"I trust that his past experiences, character and passion for helping young people grow in all facets make him the right person for the present and future of our program," Hamilton said. "I am looking forward to him, Avery and the rest of our coaching staff building on the special foundation that has been laid." 
 
As a student-athlete, Poyner ran collegiately at both Wake Forest and Lipscomb, earning Atlantic Sun Conference Runner of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in 2017.
 
While at Lipscomb, the First Team Academic All-American also won the individual ASUN cross country title and led his teams to two ASUN cross country championships.
 
"Ethan Hamilton's heart for the University and the student-athletes at Point Loma was very evident throughout the interview process, and I look forward to being a team player within the Sea Lions Athletic Department," Poyner said. "Coach Takata has done a fantastic job on staff, and I'm excited to be able to work with her moving forward — her continued leadership and expertise cannot be understated.
 
"Carrying on the incredible legacy of Coach Arvin's impact on this program and within the Point Loma community during his historic tenure is something I do not take lightly. I look forward to hearing countless stories and testimony to Coach Arvin's 37 tremendous years at the helm and wish him all the best in his next endeavors."
 
Poyner, a native of Winona Lake, Indiana, earned a bachelor of science degree in exercise science from Lipscomb in May 2018.