Cedarville College
Yellow Jackets
1996 Men's and Women's Cross Country
Meet-by-Meet Recaps
Nov. 16, at NAIA Nationals
WOMEN -- The Lady Jackets achieved their highest NAIA finish ever by tying for fifth place in the 35-team field. Simon Fraser BC won the title with 75 points and was followed by Puget Sound WA (114), Westmont CA (172), Pacific Lutheran WA (221), and Cedarville tied with Berry GA (225). Senior standout Julianne Pletcher earned NAIA All-America honors (top 30 finishers) for the third straight year by placing tenth in 18:07 for the 5,000 meters. Sophomore Becky Jordan earned an All-American spot for the second consecutive time by finishing 29th in 18:36. Other Lady Jackets to score were Michelle Burson (69th; 19:12), Rebecca Jenks (74th; 19:16), and Megan Stevens (110th; 19:35). Cedarville was honored for having the fourth-highest team grade point average with a cumulative 3.75 GPA.
MEN -- The Yellow Jackets struggled to 26th place out of 34 schools. Ben Thompson finished 106th out of 317 runners in 26:35 for the 8,000 meter course. The rest of Cedarville's top five included Eric Crawford (135th; 26:50), Steve McGillivray (165th; 27:05), David Rea (194th; 27:22), and Chris Merrell (205th; 27:29).
Nov. 9, NCCAA NATIONALS
WOMEN -- The Lady Jackets won their third NCCAA banner with 27 points to easily outdistance runner-up Malone, who finished with 75. Nineteen teams competed. Julianne Pletcher won the meet in a course record time of 18:02 and she was later presented the Wheeler Award as the NCCAA's Female Runner of the Year. Elvin King was named Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year. Joining Pletcher on the All-America team (top 15 finishers) were Becky Jordan (4th; 18:51), Michelle Burson (6th; 19:11), Rebecca Jenks (7th; 19:14), and Jill Zenner (9th; 19:16). Cedarville placed seven women on the NCCAA All-America Scholar-Athlete Team which includes juniors and seniors who maintain a minimum 3.40 grade point average. That list included Pletcher, Burson, Jenks, Zenner, Rachelle Elder, Megan Stevens, and Edith Steele.
MEN -- Taylor nipped nine-time champion Malone, 55-56, for the title and they were followed by Cumberland (76), Indiana Wesleyan (80), and Cedarville (107) in the 18-team field. Eric Crawford earned All-America honors for Cedarville by finishing 11th in 25:44. Other Yellow Jackets to score were Ben Thompson (18th; 26:10), Joel Peterson (22nd; 26:15), Chris Merrell (25th; 26:21), and Steve McGillivray (35th; 26:50). McGillivray was also tabbed to the All-America Scholar-Athlete unit.
Nov. 2, at Mid-Ohio Conference Championships
WOMEN -- The Lady Jackets, ranked No. 5 in the NAIA, claimed their fifth straight MOC championship with 33 points. No. 10 ranked Rio Grande had 52 points and No. 13 Malone totalled 53. The rest of the field included Walsh (116), Findlay (124), and Tiffin (165). Julianne Pletcher placed second in a school-record time of 17:57 for the 5,000 meters. The rest of Cedarville's top five included Michelle Burson (5th; 18:47), Rebecca Jenks (7th; 19:07), Christy Taylor (9th; 19:18), and Becky Jordan (10th; 19:19).
MEN -- The Cedarville men finished second and in so doing defeated No. 16 ranked Walsh for the second time this season. No. 8 Malone won the meet with 27 points and was followed by Cedarville (54), Walsh (60), Rio Grande (111), Findlay (138), and Tiffin (178). The Jackets' top five consisted of Eric Crawford (6th; 25:39), Ben Thompson (10th; 26:05), Chris Merrell (11th; 26:06), Joel Peterson (13th; 26:16), and Steve McGillivray (14th; 26:22).
Oct. 19, at Gettysburg Invitational
WOMEN -- Cedarville tied NCAA Division II Shippensburg for first place with 66 points each out of 25 competing teams. Fellow Mid-Ohio Conference member Rio Grande was third with 136 points. Julianne Pletcher finished second out of 172 runners after touring the 5,000 meters in 18:55. Becky Jordan was 12th (19:35), Jill Zenner 14th (19:48), Kara Malone 17th (19:54), and Rebecca Jenks 22nd (19:58).
MEN -- The Yellow Jackets totalled 104 points to beat 22 other schools. Indiana PA was second (117 pts) while host Gettysburg was third (169). Eric Crawford set the pace for Cedarville finishing sixth in 27:32 for the 8,000 meters. Chris Merrell was 11th (27:48), Ben Thompson 17th (28:02), Steve McGillivray 22nd (28:11), and David Swartzentruber 48th (28:59).
Oct. 11, at Ohio Intercollegiate Championships
WOMEN -- Cedarville finished fifth of 35 schools with 205 points behind champion Ohio University (47 points), Bowling Green (62), Miami (95), and Youngstown State (117). Julianne Pletcher covered the 5,000 meters in 18:05 to finish 12th out of 253 runners. Other Lady Jackets scoring were Becky Jordan (23rd; 18:29), Megan Stevens (52nd; 19:08), Kara Malone (54th; 19:09), and Jill Zenner (64th; 19:19).
MEN -- The Yellow Jackets placed 14th out of 36 schools with 426 points, but more importantly they finished three places higher than Walsh, who was ranked No. 14 in the NAIA poll. Eric Crawford was 48th of 253 runners with a time of 26:27 for the 8,000 meters. The rest of Cedarville's first five finishers included Ben Thompson (69th; 26:53), Steve McGillivray (102nd; 27:18), Chris Merrell (103rd; 27:18), and David Rea (107th; 27:23).
Sept. 28, at Greensboro Invitational
WOMEN -- Cedarville cruised to victory with 36 points in the 11-team field. The other ten schools were all NCAA Division I. Cincinnati was second with 68 points and Campbell third at 129. Julianne Pletcher finished second in 19:06. Other Lady Jackets to score were Michelle Burson (6th; 19:39), Becky Jordan (7th; 19:41), Kara Malone (10th; 19:48), and Rebecca Jenks (11th; 19:49).
MEN -- The Yellow Jackets placed fifth of 14 schools, 11 of which were NCAA Division I. Cincinnati won the meet with 28 points followed by Lindsey Wilson 67, Virginia Commonwealth 97, Cumberland 104, and Cedarville 155. Top five Yellow Jacket runners were Eric Crawford (16th; 27:22), Joel Peterson (28th; 27:48), Chris Merrell (34th; 28:07), Dave Swartzentruber (38th; 28:17), and Steve McGillivray (39th; 28:17).
Sept. 21, at Midwest Collegiate Championships
WOMEN -- The Lady Jacket varsity, preseason ranked sixth in the NAIA, competed in the prestigious Midwest Collegiate Championships where they placed sixth out of 26 teams. Miami of Ohio won the meet. Julianne Pletcher led the way for Cedarville by finishing ninth of 287 runners in 18:21. Also scoring were Kara Malone (36th, 19:14), Becky Jordan (44th, 19:18), Michelle Burson (55th, 19:27), and Megan Stevens (56th, 19:28).
Sept. 21, FRIENDSHIP INVITATIONAL
WOMEN -- Cedarville ran its junior varsity and placed fourth out of nine schools with 125 points. Kenyon (37) nipped Rio Grande (38) for the title while Spring Arbor was third (70). Christy Taylor paced the Lady Jackets in 16th place with a time of 20:05. Other Lady Jackets in the top five were Jill Breckenfeld (23rd, 20:34), Jessica Chambers (26th, 20:41), JeriAnn Goodbar (34th, 20:54), and Rachelle Elder (35th, 20:54).
MEN -- Taylor with 34 points coasted to the team title while Cedarville was second with 74. The Yellow Jackets' top five included Eric Crawford (10th, 26:17), David Rea (11th, 26:19), Dave Swartzentruber (23rd, 27:07), Craig Shank (24th, 27:07), and Joel Peterson (26th, 27:13).
Sept. 7, at Wittenberg Invitational
WOMEN -- The Lady Jackets coasted to victory by grabbing four of the first five places and eight of the first 12. Cedarville totalled 20 points and was followed by Baldwin-Wallace (76), Wittenberg (82), Hanover (99), Ohio Wesleyan (127), and Earlham (143). Julianne Pletcher won the meet by covering the 5,000 meters in 18:59. Other Jacket runners to score were Becky Jordan (2nd, 19:27), Megan Stevens (4th, 19:55), Michelle Burson (5th, 19:59), and Kara Malone (8th, 20:13).
MEN -- Earlham took four of the first five places to win with 37 points while Cedarville was next with 53. The remaining teams were Baldwin-Wallace (77), Wittenberg (95), Hanover (97), and Ohio Wesleyan (164). The Yellow Jackets' top five in the 8K race included Joel Peterson (6th, 27:54), Chris Merrell (9th, 28:05), Eric Crawford (10th, 28:06), Dave Swartzentruber (13th, 28:16), and Scott Ruhlman (15th, 28:23).
