2006 Meet Recaps
Nov. 18, at NAIA Championship
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]
Nov. 11, NCCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
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]
Nov. 4, at AMC/NAIA Region IX Championship
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]
Oct. 21, at Southeastern Classic
Daniel Roberts continued his impressive rookie season with a 2nd-place finish and the NAIA No. 12 Yellow Jackets finished 3rd in the Southeastern Classic at Berea College. NAIA No. 2 Virginia Intermont won the 25-team meet with 29 points, No. 5 Malone tallied 63, and Cedarville had 78. Roberts turned in a season-best time of 25:00 flat for the 8,000 meters and trailed the individual champion by just six seconds. Jud Brooker was three seconds off of his personal best with a 26:22 effort to finish 14th out of 217 runners. Justin Gutierrez came in 19th (26:42), Justin Herbert was 23rd (26:47), and Matt Silveira placed 30th (26:59). The top seven also included Bryan Pittman (34th; 27:08) and Joshua Saunders (35th; 27:09). [RESULTS]
Oct. 6, at All-Ohio Intercollegiate
Freshman Daniel Roberts cruised to a 4th-place finish in the All-Ohio Intercollegiate Championship to pace the NAIA No. 10 Yellow Jackets to a 6th-place showing as a team. Ohio State won the 42-team event with 42 points and was followed by Cincinnati, 87; Kent State, 110; Miami, 135; NAIA No. 3 Malone, 179; and Cedarville, 252. Roberts covered the 8,000 meters, which is considered the most difficult course that CU runs all year, in a time of 25:41. He trailed the individual winner by just 10 seconds. Other Yellow Jacket runners in the 286-man field were Justin Gutierrez (50th; 27:22), Matt Silveira (63rd; 27:34), Bryan Pittman (65th; 27:35), Jud Brooker (70th; 27:37), Justin Herbert (74th; 27:42), and Joshua Saunders (107th; 28:14). [RESULTS]
Sept. 30, at Louisville Classic
Freshman Daniel Roberts placed 25th out of 327 runners to lead NAIA No. 10 Cedarville to a 14th-place finish at the Louisville Classic. The Jackets were second among NAIA schools behind No. 3 Aquinas in the 36-team field which featured 18 NCAA Division I programs. Roberts took one second off of his season-best 8,000 meters time with a mark of 25:03. Other runners among CU's top seven finishers were Justin Herbert (105th; 26:18), Justin Gutierrez (116th; 26:24), Jud Brooker (118th; 26:26), Josh Saunders (133rd; 26:32), Matt Silveira (149th; 26:39), and Bryan Pittman (165th; 26:51). [RESULTS]
Sept. 16, 16th Annual CEDARVILLE INVITATIONAL
NAIA No. 12 Cedarville needed a tiebreaker over No. 25 Cumberlands to win their own invitational in the opening of the new Yellow Jacket Cross Country Course. Both teams recorded 39 points, but CU claimed the victory with a higher finish from their 6th runner. Shawnee State had 77 points to place 3rd in the 13-team field. Freshman Daniel Roberts paced the Jackets with a 2nd-place finish in 25:04 for the 8,000 meters. Justin Herbert came in 5th in 26:13 while Justin Gutierrez was 8th in 26:34. Other runners among CU's top seven were Matt Silveira (11th; 26:48), Kevin Kuhn (13th; 26:52), Matt Clark (14th; 26:55), and Joshua Saunders (18th; 26:57). It was only the 3rd time in the 16-year history of the meet that Cedarville won its own invitational. The Jackets had not won it since 2002. [RESULTS]
Sept. 9, at Miami Invitational
The NAIA No. 11 Yellow Jackets opened the 2006 season by placing 2nd at the Miami Invitational. The host RedHawks tallied 17 points and was followed by Cedarville, 61; Cumberlands, 65; and Wright State, 106. Justin Herbert finished 10th with a time of 26:31 for the 8,000 meters. Other CU runners in the top seven were Justin Gutierrez (12th; 26:50), Daniel Roberts (14th; 27:07), Matt Silveira (15th; 27:10), Joshua Saunders (18th; 27:22), Kevin Kuhn (19th; 27:32), and Matt Clark (23rd; 28:01). [RESULTS]
