May 21-23, at NAIA Nationals
WOMEN -- Jill Zenner won the 3,000 meter racewalk at the NAIA Track & Field Championships in Marietta, GA. She set a meet record with a time of 13:16 in becoming the first Lady Jacket to win an NAIA outdoor track event. Stephanie Sherman twice won a field event with victories in the triple jump in 1992 and 1995. Joy Beitler had two All-America performances (top six finishers). She tied for second place in the high jump after clearing 5-feet 5-inches. Later, she placed fourth in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.89 seconds which was just .07 shy of the school record she set earlier this year. The Lady Jackets totalled 24.33 points to place in a tie for 13th for their highest finish ever. MEN -- Jon McGinnis tied for sixth in the pole vault to grab All-America honors. The sophomore cleared 15-feet 3-inches.
May 9, at Indiana Wesleyan Invitational
WOMEN -- The Lady Jackets picked up a pair of first-place finishes in the non-scoring meet. Christy Taylor won the 800 meter run in 2:20.06. Julianne Pletcher paced a 1-2-3 Cedarville finish in the 5,000 meters with a 17:44.71 clocking. Becky Jordan was second (17:51.90) and Rachelle Elder was third (18:29.32). MEN -- Dan Hudson won the javelin by one inch with a heave of 171-9. He was sixth in the discus (144-7). Jon McGinnis grabbed the only other top finish for the Yellow Jacket men by winning the pole vault at 15-2. Teammate Jason Alexander was fourth at 13-0. Elsewhere, David Rea placed second in the 800 (1:57.23) and Chris Leverette was third in the 400 meter hurdles (56.30).
May 2-3, NCCAA NATIONALS
WOMEN -- The Lady Jackets captured their fourth straight banner in the 17th Annual NCCAA National Championships on the home track. Cedarville amassed 188 points to run away from runner-up Mid-America Nazarene KS (78) and third-place Spring Arbor MI (61). Julianne Pletcher, voted the meet's Outstanding Performer, won the 3,000 (10:20.61) and 5,000 meter runs (18:21.12). Joy Beitler piled up five first-place finishes in the 100 meter hurdles (15.20), 400 meter hurdles (1:05.72), and the high jump (5-4), plus was a member of the winning 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 meter relay teams. Paul Orchard was voted NCCAA Coach of the Year. MEN -- After placing second the past five years in a row, Cedarville ended up third in the 25th Annual NCCAA Nationals. Taylor IN won for the third straight time (179) to outdistance Malone (166) and the Jackets (130.5). Linton Ellis defended his title in the 100 meter dash (11.12) and placed second in the 200 (22.24). Other second-place finishes came from James Persenaire in the 400 (51.23), Lee Reinhard in the long jump (21-0.75), Dan Hudson in the discus (137-9), 4 x 100 meter relay, and the 4 x 400 meter relay.
April 26, at Baldwin-Wallace Invitational
WOMEN -- The Lady Jackets had one first-place finish in the non-scoring meet. Kara Malone headed a one through five Cedarville finish in the 5,000 meter run in 18:29. Teammates following close behind were Becky Jordan, Rachelle Elder, Michelle Burson, and Rebecca Jenks. Joy Beitler was second in the 400 meter hurdles (1:04.61), third in the high jump (5-4), and fourth in the 100 meter hurdles (15.12). Julianne Pletcher was third in the 3,000 meter run (10:25.73). MEN -- The lone victory for the Yellow Jackets in the non-scoring meet came from Dan Hudson in the discus (147-7). David Rea was third in the 1,500 meters (4:07.07).
April 19, at Mid-Ohio Conference Championships
WOMEN -- Findlay claimed its third straight MOC title with 186 points to outscore Cedarville (170), Rio Grande (85), Walsh (74), and Malone (72). Joy Beitler won both the 100 meter hurdles (15.0) and the 400 meter hurdles (1:04.2). Jodi Quint set a new school record in winning the javelin (118-5) while Julianne Pletcher's winning time of 37:34 in the 10,000 meter run met the NAIA qualifying standard. Alison Huizinga finished first in the hammer throw (121-2). MEN -- Malone won its first championship since 1989 with 177.5 points and was followed by Findlay (137), Cedarville (112.5), Rio Grande (72), Walsh (67), and Tiffin (20). David Rea won the 800 meters in 1:55.9 while Jon McGinnis was a winner in the pole vault at 14-6.
April 12, at Miami Invitational
WOMEN -- Cedarville was the only non-NCAA Division I team in the field. Host Miami won the meet with 211 points and was followed by Western Michigan (167.25), Notre Dame (128), Butler (52.25), Louisville (46), Detroit Mercy (40.5), Cincinnati (30), and Cedarville (20). Jodi Quint was second in the javelin (116-0). Joy Beitler was sixth in the 100 meter hurdles, but her time of 14.82 seconds broke her own school record and also qualified her for the NAIA Nationals. Becky Jordan placed sixth in the 3,000 meters (10:27.94). MEN -- The Yellow Jackets faced off against eight NCAA Division I schools. Central Michigan won the event with 169 points and was trailed by Miami (163.5), Cincinnati (120.5), Western Michigan (117), Notre Dame (111.5), Louisville (35), Detroit Mercy (23), Butler (22), and Cedarville (21.5). Dan Hudson finished second in the javelin (170-0) and sixth in the discus (44.88m). Dwayne Bryan was sixth in the high jump (1.98m) and the 4 x 100 meter relay unit finished fourth (43.55).
April 5, at Wittenberg Invitational
WOMEN -- The Lady Jackets placed second out of 13 schools. Baldwin-Wallace won the meet with 211.3 points with Cedarville (157.5) and Wittenberg (85.5) rounding out the top three. Lady Jacket winners were Joy Beitler in the 400 meter hurdles (1:06.15), Michelle Burson in the 10,000 meters (40:51), Rebecca Jenks in the 3,000 meters (12:13.29), and Lindsey Mitchell in the triple jump (34-11.5). MEN -- Otterbein won the 11-team meet with 137 points and was followed by Wittenberg (123), Baldwin-Wallace (117.5), and Cedarville (104.5). The Yellow Jackets had no winners but second-place finishers were Chris Leverette in the 400 meter hurdles (56.34) and Linton Ellis in the 200 meter dash (22.20).
March 28, CEDARVILLE INVITATIONAL
The Cedarville Invitational attracted competitors from 15 college and universities as well as some outstanding athletes competing unattached. It was a non-scoring meet. WOMEN -- Joy Beitler set a school record in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.99 seconds. She placed second in the event and was also second in the 400 meter hurdles (1:08.63) and the high jump (5-4). Alison Huizinga set a new school mark in the hammer throw with a heave of 110-7 which placed fourth. Julianne Pletcher won the 5,000 (18:55.25) while teammate Becky Jordan was second (18:57.30). Rebecca Jenks won the 10,000 (42:09.2) while Jodi Quint was second in the javelin (112-5). MEN -- Dan Hudson won the javelin (174-1) and was third in the discus (153-1). Second-place finishers included Jon McGinnis in the pole vault (15-0), Pete Bednarek in the triple jump (41-4), and Joel Peterson in the 10,000 meters (33:49.6).
March 21-22, at Florida State Relays
Both Yellow Jacket teams made their annual stop at the Florida State University Relays in Tallahassee on the way back from their spring break trip to Florida. It was a non-scoring meet. WOMEN -- Some of the notable Lady Jacket results included Joy Beitler in the 100 meter hurdles (15.39), 400 meter hurdles (66.45), and the high jump (5-2.25). Others were Jodee Howard in the 400 meters (62.86), Kara Malone in the 5,000 (18:32.48), and Jill Breckenfeld in the 10,000 (41:14.69). MEN -- Notable Yellow Jacket men's efforts were Dan Hudson in the javelin (164-4), Brian Hilty in the 800 meters (1:59.42), Chris Merrell in the 1,500 (4:08.78), and Joel Peterson in the 5,000 (15:53.97).