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2003 Season Outlook The Cedarville University women's track & field program has enjoyed a wealth of success during Paul Orchard's previous nine years at the helm with five straight NCCAA banners (1994-98) and a conference championship (1998). Last spring Cedarville finished 8th at the NAIA Outdoor Nationals, 3rd at the NCCAA Nationals behind Malone and Indiana Wesleyan, and 2nd in the AMC Championships behind Malone. The outlook for the upcoming season is solid as the Lady Jackets appear to have adequate depth with improved balance throughout all events to keep them competitive for the 2003 season. "Once again our strength on the track will come in the distance events from 1,500 meters on up," stated Orchard, “but we have also added some talented freshmen in the sprints and are pretty solid in the field events. We'll have some athletes compete for All-America recognition as we have in the past." Heading up the distance running contingent are those members of Cedarville's cross country team which won the NAIA national championship in 2001 and finished 4th in 2002. Seniors Erin Nehus, Jennifer Tetrick, Kim (McNeilance) Fleck and Heidi Wright bring valuable experience and proven success in distance running to the track.
Nehus, a three-time All-American in cross country, garnered indoor All-America honors last winter by placing 4th in the 5,000 meters. She is also the reigning NCCAA 3K and 5K champion and is the three-time defending American Mideast Conference 1,500 meter champion. Nehus notched another title at the AMC meet by winning the 3,000 meter race with a 10:22.06 effort. Tetrick repeated as AMC champion in the 10K and finished 4th with a time of 37:50.36 at the NAIA Outdoor Championships to garner All-America status. Fleck and Wright both ran on championship day at the NAIA cross country meet and bring their distance running talents to the track. Junior Sarah Roberts and freshman Jennifer McKellar also add depth to the distance efforts with their cross country skills. Roberts finished 1st at the AMC Cross Country Championships this past fall while McKellar is a two-time All-Ohioan in track running the 1,600 meters. Senior thrower Michalina Gluchowski and junior Michaela (Cernetic) Bolton finished 3rd and 4th, respectively, at the NCCAA Championships last spring. Gluchowski also garnered the hammer throw title at the AMC Championships with a school-record toss of 156-feet 5-inches.
Sophomore Rachael Castro, an NAIA and NCCAA All-American, will look for another outstanding season in the pole vault after setting a new school record of 11-feet and 11.75-inches last spring to finish 2nd at the NAIA Championships. Freshmen sprinters Rachel Anderson and Lauren Mable, both members of the Lady Jacket volleyball squad, will bring their athletic ability to the track this season. Anderson’s 4 x 400 meter relay squad from Beavercreek High School finished 3rd at the 2002 Ohio Division I Track Meet while Mable finished 5th in the 100 meters and the 400 meters at the Pennsylvania State Meet. She holds five school records at Conestoga Valley High School. The indoor season will consist of seven meets including the NCCAA and NAIA Indoor Championships. “Our goal for the indoor season will be two-fold: using it as preparation for the outdoor season but also preparing our athletes to successfully compete at the NCCAA and NAIA indoor meets,” commented Coach Orchard. The Lady Jackets will not have any home track meets this spring due to the construction of the new Fitness & Recreation Center. Highlighting the schedule is the NCCAA Nationals at Indiana Wesleyan, a trip to the NAIA Nationals, and the AMC Championships at Rio Grande. Cedarville's new lighted track & field complex, located at the north end of the campus, will be ready in time for the 2004 spring season. | |||||||||||||||||
