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2004 Season Outlook The Cedarville University women’s track & field team continues to build on a foundation of successful seasons. Last year was no exception as the squad finished 10th at the NAIA Outdoor Nationals, 3rd at the NCCAA Outdoor Nationals and 3rd in the American Mideast Conference. Now the coaching baton has been passed to head coach Jeff Bolender and he begins his first season at the helm with the majority of his team experiencing their first taste of collegiate competition. The 2004 roster of 26 features no less than 16 freshmen joining six sophomores, one junior and just three seniors. The young and inexperienced roster makes it difficult for the first-year coach to predict how his team will perform, but there is still a good nucleus of upper class talent returning and he is anxious to see how the freshmen develop throughout the season. "My goal is to provide an excellent track & field experience for all athletes,” commented Bolender. “We desire to reach the goals they have. This is done by providing a challenging and systematic training program.”
Headlining the short list of returnees for the Lady Jackets is two-time NAIA and NCCAA All-American pole vaulter Rachael Castro, who is the lone junior on the squad. She is the two-time defending American Mideast Conference champion and holds both the indoor (11-feet even) and outdoor (11-feet 11.75 inches) school records. Last spring, she finished 4th at the NAIA Outdoor Championship with a vault of 11-5.75 to repeat as an NAIA All-American. Another performer that will be expected to carry the leadership role is senior thrower Michaela Bolton. Last spring, she finished 14th in the hammer throw at the NAIA Outdoor Championships with a heave of 149-1 and became an NAIA automatic qualifier with a career-best toss of 150-4 to finish 4th in the AMC Championship. Senior Sarah Mark, one of CU’s top women distance runners and a three-time NCCAA All-American and two-time NAIA All-American, returns for her final season of competition. She earned NAIA All-America honors with a 4th-place finish in the first-ever running of the women’s 3,000 meter steeplechase in 11:04.35 at the NAIA Outdoor Championship last year and won the first-ever running of the event in 10:59.54 at the NCCAA Outdoor Championship to earn NCCAA All-America status. Sophomore sprinter Lauren Mable will be expected to make significant contributions this season after struggling her entire freshman campaign with nagging injuries. She was still able to set a new indoor school record in the 55 meters with a 7.47 performance in the preliminaries at the NCCAA Indoor Championships.
Three freshmen that could immediately contribute will be Keri Hilty in the high jump and middle distances, Sarah Ensslen in the long and triple jumps, and Bonnie Wright in sprints and long jump. “Our themes for this year include encouragement, preparation, confidence, and discipline,” stated Bolender. “It will be both exciting and fun to watch and see these goals met and how that translates to successful efforts on the track.” The 2004 indoor season consists of eight meets including the NCCAA and NAIA Indoor Championships. The delay in construction of the indoor track/floor in the new Fitness-Health-Recreation Center will postpone any plans for home indoor track meets until next season. The Lady Jackets will participate in 12 outdoor meets this spring including the Yellow Jacket Open on April 16 which will be the first-ever meet on the new lighted track & field complex located at the north end of campus. Highlighting the 2004 outdoor schedule will be the NCCAA Nationals, the NAIA Nationals, and the American Mideast Conference Championships at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, NY. | ||||||||||||||||||
