NAIA Final Ranking - 8th
2006 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
NAIA National Championship - 10th place
NCCAA National Runner-Up
NAIA Region IX Runner-Up
American Mideast Conference Runner-Up
Cedarville Invitational Champions
Daniel Roberts
Roberts brings big time running talent, big goals to CU
by Jim Sawin, sports information intern
CEDARVILLE, Ohio (12-20-2006) - The pressure of high expectations put on athletes isn't always fair, but it is a reality. Some athletes live up to the hype while others seem to crumble underneath its demands. This past fall, one of the top recruits in the nation, Daniel Roberts, decided to turn down big colleges such as Notre Dame, North Carolina State, and Liberty in order to display his talents at a Christian school in Ohio called Cedarville University. [FULL STORY]
Daniel Roberts' 5th-place NAIA finish was the second-highest in school history. (Josh Ohms pic)
Jackets 10th in NAIA; Roberts All-American
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (11-18-2006) - Daniel Roberts wrapped up a phenomenal rookie season by placing 5th at the NAIA National Championship and the Yellow Jackets grabbed a 10th-place finish as a team. Cedarville had 323 points for the highest finish among American Mideast Conference teams. Virginia Intermont repeated as champion of the 28-team meet with 67 points.
Roberts posted a time of 24:43 for the 8,000 meters which was just 37 seconds behind the individual champion. Other Yellow Jackets to score were Justin Gutierrez (78th; 26:15), Justin Herbert (102nd; 26:31), Jud Brooker (104th; 26:31), and Bryan Pittman (153rd; 27:09). The two remaining CU runners in the 254-man field were Kevin Kuhn (158th; 27:11) and Matt Silveira (167th; 27:18).
Roberts became the fifth Yellow Jacket to earn NAIA All-America recognition (top 30 finishers) in cross country and the first freshman to accomplish the feat. Only two-time All-American Sergio Reyes finished higher. He was 4th in 2002 following a 6th-place finish in 2000. Three-time All-American and NAIA Hall of Famer Eric Fillinger finished in the Top 10 each time out - 9th in 1987, 6th in 1988, and 8th in 1989. CU's other All-Americans were Brian Hull in 1976 and John Oswald in 1987.
Matt Clark represented Cedarville on the NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete Team. The squad includes juniors and seniors who maintain a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade point average. [RESULTS and NAIA ALL-AMERICA SCHOLAR-ATHLETES]
Daniel Roberts on his way to finish 2nd at the NCCAA Nationals.
Roberts, Jackets 2nd in NCCAA
CEDARVILLE, Ohio (11-11-2006) - Freshman Daniel Roberts was the individual runner-up and Cedarville placed 2nd as a team at the 34th Annual NCCAA Cross Country Championship. Malone won its 17th banner with 52 points at the new Elvin R. King Cross Country Course, the Yellow Jackets totaled 57 points, and MidAmerica Nazarene was 3rd in the 22-team field with 81 points.
Roberts covered the rain-soaked 8,000 meter course in 25:58 and trailed the champion by 32 seconds. He headed three Yellow Jackets on the NCCAA All-America unit (top 15 finishers) which included Justin Gutierrez (7th; 27:13) and Bryan Pittman (8th; 27:15). Other CU runners were Matt Silveira (19th; 27:49), Kevin Kuhn (21st; 27:54), Justin Herbert (25th; 28:02), and Joshua Saunders (39th; 28:59).
Pittman and Matt Clark were recognized as NCCAA All-America Scholar-Athletes. The list includes juniors and seniors who maintain a minimum 3.40 cumulative grade point average. [RESULTS - ALL-AMERICANS - SCHOLAR-ATHLETES]
Roberts AMC, Region IX winner; CU runner-up
TIFFIN, Ohio (11-4-2006) - Daniel Roberts won the individual title by 29 seconds and NAIA No. 11 Cedarville was the runner-up at the NAIA Region IX and American Mideast Conference Championships. No. 5 Malone took the top team honors with 29 points, CU totaled 39 points, and Shawnee State was a distant 3rd place in the 15-team field with 97 points.
Roberts became the first Yellow Jacket to win the race since Sergio Reyes did it in 2002. The freshmen toured the 8,000 meters in a season-best time of 24:40. Other Cedarville runners to score were Justin Gutierrez (6th; 25:43), Justin Herbert (8th; 25:49), Bryan Pittman (9th; 25:49), and Jud Brooker (15th; 26:18). Rounding out the top seven were Joshua Saunders (17th; 26:24) and Kevin Kuhn (20th; 26:30).
Roberts and Gutierrez earned spots on the All-AMC First Team (top seven finishers). Herbert and Pittman were Second Team honorees (finishers 8-14) with Brooker and Saunders honorable mention (finishers 15-17). [NAIA REGION IX RESULTS - AMC RESULTS - ALL-AMC TEAM]
Elvin R. King Cross Country Course
Cedarville University's new cross country course was dedicated and named in honor of longtime coach Elvin King during Homecoming Weekend. Joining in on the announcement were (from left-to-right) Jeff Bolender, head track & field coach; Dr. Robert Milliman, Academic Vice President; Pete Reese, athletic director; Dr. Pam Johnson, Dean of the School of Health and Human Performance; Elvin King; and Dr. Bill Brown, President of Cedarville University.
Head Coach
Paul Orchard
Assistant Coaches
Dan Campbell
Steve Powers
Cross Country Facts
- 3 NCCAA National Championships
- 5 NCCAA Individual Champions
- 7 NAIA All-Americans
- 48 NCCAA All-Americans
- 29 All-America Scholar-Athletes
