2008 Meet Recaps
May 1-3, at NCCAA Outdoor Championship
Ben Michaud won the shot put title for the third consecutive year to lead Cedarville's showing at the NCCAA Outdoor Championship. The Yellow Jackets placed 6th of 15 schools. Michaud unloaded a heave of 53-feet 3.75-inches. He was CU's only individual champion, but his effort was one of seven All-America performances (top three finishers) for the Yellow Jackets. Neil Henning was an All-American in two events. He placed 2nd in the hammer throw with a toss of 171-9 and was 3rd in the shot put at 50-2.50. Jud Brooker was 2nd in the 1,500 meters in 4:02.85; Robert Rasnick was the pole vault runner-up by clearing 15-5; Jordan Molstre placed 2nd in the javelin at 165-6; and Brandon Tress finished 3rd in the 400 meter hurdles in 54.60 seconds. [RESULTS - PHOTO GALLERY by Matt Franz]
April 18-19, at American Mideast Conference Championship
Neil Henning was voted the Outstanding Field Performer of the Meet after setting school and meet records in the hammer throw at the American Mideast Conference Championship. The Yellow Jackets finished as the overall runner-up behind host Malone. Henning unloaded the hammer 174-feet 1-inch to break his own school record and establish a new AMC mark. He earned a share of the top award in field events after placing 2nd in the discus (147-3) and 6th in the shot put (45-0.50). Kevin Kuhn repeated as the 3,000 meter steeplechase champion with an NAIA automatic qualifying time of 9:28.40. Other CU winners were Brandon Tress in the 110 meter hurdles (14.9h), Jud Brooker in the 1,500 (3:56.33), Josh Wiseman in the 5,000 meter race walk (23:20.08), Ben Michaud in the shot put (50-4), and Jordan Molstre in the javelin (165-3). Malone won the seven-team meet with 222 points while the Yellow Jackets tallied 198. Notre Dame (Ohio) was third at 129 and was followed by Houghton at 106 points. [RESULTS - PHOTO GALLERY by Matt Franz]
April 11-12, at Miami Invitational
Neil Henning set a new school record in the hammer throw to highlight Cedarville's showing at the Miami Invitational. His heave of 173-feet even surpassed the old mark of 169-4 established by James Yahara in 2004. Henning placed 7th of 22 competitors in the event. The 4 x 400 meter relay team of Kevin Kuhn, Kelly Nowels, Stephen Gruenberg, and Michael Beight was 2nd in 3:27.80. T.J. Badertscher was 3rd in the 3,000 meter steeplechase in 9:49.15. The host Redhawks easily won the 11-team meet. Cedarville was 7th with 40 points. [RESULTS]
April 10-12, at Tennessee Relays
Ben Michaud and Robert Rasnick represented the Yellow Jackets at the Tennessee Relays and both met the NAIA qualifying standard in their respective events. Michaud, last year's NAIA national runner-up in the shot put, posted a mark of 51-feet 6.25-inches. He placed 14th overall in the event against NCAA Division I competition. Rasnick, the NAIA indoor pole vault runner-up as a freshman this winter, cleared 15-feet 7-inches. He finished 10th in the NCAA Division I field. [RESULTS]
April 5, at Cincinnati Invitational
Neil Henning's toss of 169-feet 3-inches was an NAIA automatic qualifying mark as he placed 8th in the event at the University of Cincinnati Invitational. He was also 9th in the discus at 151-4 and Cedarville placed 14th as a team in the 18-team field. The Yellow Jackets had five other 8th-place performances. The list includes T.J. Badertscher in the 5,000 meters (15:10.83), Brandon Tress in the 400 meter hurdles (55.93), Ben Michaud in the shot put (50-8), Jordan Molstre in the javelin (154-1), and the 4 x 400 meter relay which consisted of Michael Beight, Kelly Nowels, Sammy Starr, and Tress (3:22.67). Other 9th-place efforts came from Kevin Kuhn in the 800 meters (1:56.16), Nowels in the 400 meter hurdles (56.04), Robert Rasnick in the pole vault (14-7.25), and Travis Smith in the triple jump (41-3.75). [RESULTS - PHOTO GALLERY by Matt Franz]
March 29, CEDARVILLE OUTDOOR OPEN
The host Yellow Jackets used their depth to claim the team title at the Cedarville Track & Field Open. CU won the 12-team event with 151 points, runner-up Tiffin totaled 107.50, and Findlay was third with 105. Cedarville had just one individual champion. Freshman T.J. Badertscher won the 3,000 meter steeplechase in 10:08.11. However, three athletes met the NAIA automatic qualifying standard in the 5,000 meter race walk. The trio includes Seth Campbell (25:00.0), Grant Bacon (25:05.70), and Josh Wiseman (25:06.20). They placed 2-3-4 in the event. The Yellow Jackets had two runner-up performances. Neil Henning was 2nd in the shot put with a heave of 50-feet 10-inches and Christian Maat was 2nd in the hammer with a throw of 162-10. [RESULTS]
March 22, at Emory Invitational
Neil Henning won the discus and finished in the top three of two other events to lead the Yellow Jackets to a second-place finish at the Emory Invitational to open the outdoor season. Henning's winning effort in the discus was 142-feet 4-inches. He placed 2nd in the shot put at 49-7.75 and was 3rd in the hammer with a heave of 156-9. Christian Maat finished 2nd in the hammer at 160-9 and Rob Trennepohl was 2nd in the 10,000 meters (32:56.04). Jud Brooker placed 3rd in the 1,500 meters (4:01.64) and Brandon Tress was 3rd in the 400 meter hurdles (56.68). Host Emory won the 21-team meet with 91 points. Cedarville was a close second with 88 points and Shorter was third with 85. [RESULTS - PHOTO GALLERY by Matt Franz]
March 6-8, at NAIA Indoor Championship
Freshman Robert Rasnick was the runner-up in the pole vault to lead a quintet of five All-Americans from Cedarville at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championship. The Yellow Jackets assembled a Top 10 finish by ranking 8th as a team overall. Rasnick continued CU's tradition of solid performances in the pole vault by clearing 16-feet 2.75-inches. Ben Michaud was 5th in the shot put with a heave of 54-7.25. The Jackets had three All-Americans (top six finishers) in the track events including two in the 3,000 meter race walk. Josh Wiseman was 3rd in 13:58.24 with Seth Campbell right behind in 4th place in 13:58.37. Jud Brooker finished 6th in the mile in 4:18.21. Kevin Kuhn set a school record in the 1,000 meter prelims in 2:29.31 and then placed 7th in the final in 2:33.48. T.J. Badertscher was 7th in his prelim heat of the 5,000 meters in 15:30.08. The 4 x 800 meter relay unit of Kurt Groman, Jordan Davies, Kelly Nowels, and Justin Herbert also failed to advance after a 8:00.01 effort for 7th place in their heat. Also, Grant Bacon competed in the race walk and Brandon Tress participated in the 60 meter hurdles, but both were disqualified from their respective events. Cedarville totaled 21 points in the meet. Azusa Pacific (Calif.) won the team championship with 64.75 points and Oklahoma Baptist was a close second with 64 points. [RESULTS - PHOTO GALLERY by Matt Franz]
Feb. 29, at Ohio Northern
Kevin Kuhn turned in one of the fastest times in school history in the 500 meters and won the event at the Ohio Northern Friday Night Series. Kuhn was clocked in 1:06.42 to win the race by more than a second. The performance ranks as the third-fastest ever run by a Yellow Jacket in the 500 meters. He was the only Cedarville representative competing in the meet. [RESULTS]
Feb. 23, NCCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP
Neil Henning set a school record with a winning toss in the weight throw and Cedarville had six All-America performances in all at the NCCAA Indoor Championship held in the Doden Field House. The Yellow Jackets placed 4th as a team behind Indiana Wesleyan, Greenville, and Bethel. Henning won the weight throw with a heave of 54-feet 3-inches to break the old mark of 53-3.75 set by Shawn Graves in 2000. Ben Michaud won the shot put with a mark of 56-10 and Kevin Kuhn was a winner in the 800 meters in 1:56.62. Other All-Americans (top three finishers) included Jud Brooker, who was the runner-up in the mile in 4:17.78 which met the NAIA automatic qualifying standard. Mark Williams was 3rd in the long jump at 21-2.50 and Kuhn was 3rd in the mile in 4:22.20. The 4 x 200 meter relay squad set a new school record with a 4th-place time of 1:33.56. The foursome included Michael Beight, Marcus Benjamin, Mark Williams, and Stephen Gruenberg. Seth Campbell, Kevin Kuhn, Kelly Nowels, and Rob Trennepohl, who are all juniors, were recognized as NCCAA Scholar-Athletes. The list includes juniors and seniors who maintain a minimum 3.40 cumulative grade point average. [RESULTS - SCHOLAR-ATHLETES - PHOTO GALLERY by Matt Franz]
Feb. 15, at Findlay Open
Jud Brooker was a winner in the mile run to lead the Yellow Jackets' showing at the Findlay Open. He won the race by nearly four seconds with a time of 4:24.60. Ben Michaud was 3rd in the shot put with a heave of 52-feet 9.50-inches while teammate Neil Henning was 4th at 52-2.50. Robert Rasnick placed 3rd in the pole vault by clearing 15-11. Elsewhere, Brandon Tress was 3rd in the 600 meter run in 1:26.17 and 4th in the 60 meter hurdles in 8.66 seconds. Travis Smith was 4th in the triple jump with a mark of 41-4.50. The meet was non-scoring. [RESULTS]
Feb. 8, at Ohio Northern
Kevin Kuhn met the NAIA automatic qualifying standard in the 1,000 meters with a school-record time to set the pace for the Yellow Jackets at the Ohio Northern Friday Night Series. His winning mark of 2:30.0 broke a 10-year old CU record. Freshman pole vaulter Robert Rasnick cleared 16-feet even to win while Ben Michaud (55-3.50) and Neil Henning (50-7.25) finished 1-2 in the shot put. All three athletes surpassed the NAIA qualifying mark at ONU, yet had already met the standard in their respective events in previous meets. Henning, however, additionally qualified in the 35-pound weight throw with a heave of 52-6.75 which placed fifth. Elsewhere, Brandon Tress won the 300 meters in 37.11 seconds and Jud Brooker claimed the 3,000 meter title in 8:57.25. Ohio Northern won the nine-team meet with 178.5 points. Hillsdale was second with 149 points while the Yellow Jackets placed third with 117. [RESULTS]
Feb. 1-2, at Indiana Relays
Neil Henning joined fellow thrower Ben Michaud as an automatic NAIA qualifier in the shot put with his performance at the Indiana Relays. Henning unloaded a toss of 51-feet 8-inches in the prelims to meet the NAIA qualifying mark. Michaud, who met the standard the previous week at Capital, had an effort of 53-3 to advance to the finals where he placed 9th overall at 52-1.25. Elsewhere, Kevin Kuhn finished 7th in the mile with a time of 4:20.88. Seth Campbell was 10th in the 3,000 meters in 8:52.45 and the 4 x 800 meter relay squad of Kuhn, Kelly Nowels, Jordan Davies, and Kurt Groman placed 9th in 7:58.41. [DAY 1 RESULTS - DAY 2 RESULTS - PHOTO GALLERY by Matt Franz]
Jan. 25, at Capital Invitational
The Yellow Jackets, led by NAIA automatic qualifiers Ben Michaud and Robert Rasnick, won seven events total en route to taking home the Capital Invitational title. Michaud won the shot put with a heave of 52-feet 3.25-inches while Rasnick captured his first pole vault title as a freshman by clearing 15-5.75. Joshua Saunders won the 800 meters in 2:02.66 and later joined Kurt Groman, Brandon Tress, and Kelly Nowels to take first in the 4 x 400 meter relay in 3:32.87. Other wins came from Kevin Kuhn in the 1,000 meters (2:32.80), Seth Campbell in the 3,000 (9:00.99), and Neil Henning in the 35-pound weight throw (51-0.25). Cedarville racked up 174.50 total points and Wilmington was the runner-up with 102. Host Capital finished third in the eight-team field with 88 points. [RESULTS]
Jan. 18, CEDARVILLE INDOOR INVITATIONAL
The Cedarville Indoor Invitational kicked off the 2008 schedule with Travis Smith and Seth Campbell picking up individual wins and the Yellow Jackets outscoring eight other schools. Smith won the triple jump competition with a mark of 40-feet 10.50 inches. Campbell was victorious in the 3,000 meter race walk in a time of 14:10.81. He met the NAIA automatic qualifying standard along with third-place finisher Josh Wiseman, who was clocked in 15:02.98. The Jackets totaled 189.50 points to easily win the team competition. Wilmington was the runner-up with 95.67 points while Rio Grande was third with 69.33. [RESULTS]
