Cedarville College
Yellow Jackets
1997 Men's and Women's Cross Country
Meet-by-Meet Recaps
Nov. 15, at NAIA Nationals
WOMEN -- The Lady Jackets placed 19th out of 35 schools in the meet that was run in six inches of snow. Junior runner Becky Jordan earned NAIA All-America honors (top 30 finishers) for the third straight year by placing 25th in 20:08 for the 5,000 meters. Others to score for Cedarville were Rachelle Elder (93rd; 21:08), Christy Taylor (141st; 21:40), Rebecca Jenks (155th; 21:46), and Jill Breckenfeld (181st; 21:48). The Jackets were also presented the Team Scholar Award for being the squad at the national meet with the highest combined team grade point average at 3.67 on a 4.0 scale.
MEN -- Cedarville placed 12th out of 35 schools which was one spot lower than their all-time best finish. Ben Thompson covered the 8,000 meters in 27:27 to place 36th of 336 competitors. Others for the Jackets were Ed Letts (37th; 27:30), Joel Peterson (94th; 28:20), David Rea (120th; 28:39), and Chris Merrell (131st; 28:44).
Nov. 8, NCCAA NATIONALS
WOMEN -- Malone won the 17th annual NCCAA women's title with 51 points while Cedarville was runner-up in the 20-team field with 81. Becky Jordan (6th; 18:49) and Rachelle Elder (9th; 18:54) both earned All-America honors by placing in the top 15. Megan Hill (20th; 19:35), Christy Taylor (23rd; 19:38), and Jill Breckenfeld (26th; 19:43) completed the Lady Jacket scoring.
MEN -- The Yellow Jacket men had a solid showing in the 25th annual NCCAA championship by finishing fourth out of 21 teams. Malone regained the title with 55 points and was followed by Taylor (67), Indiana Wesleyan (98), and Cedarville (99). All-America recognition went to Ben Thompson (8th; 25:25) and Ed Letts (15th; 25:40). Other Yellow Jacket finishers were Eric Crawford (18th; 26:00), Joel Peterson (26th; 26:17), and Chris Merrell (33rd; 26:29).
Nov. 1, at Mid-Ohio Conference Championships
WOMEN -- Cedarville placed third in a tough field with 54 points behind Rio Grande (40) and Malone (41). Becky Jordan (3rd; 19:37) and Rachelle Elder (6th; 19:44) earned all-conference honors by placing in the top seven. Others to score for the Lady Jackets were Christy Taylor (14th; 20:12), Megan Hill (15th; 20:17), and Sarah Pollock (16th; 20:22).
MEN -- Perennial power Malone won the MOC men's division with 18 points while Cedarville was next with 49. Ben Thompson grabbed all-conference honors by placing 4th in 26:13 for the 8,000 meters. Ed Letts (8th; 26:33) and Joel Peterson (10th; 26:51) were honorable mention. Others for the Jackets included Steve McGillivray (13th; 27:05) and Eric Crawford (14th; 27:08).
Oct. 18, at Rochester Invitational
WOMEN -- The Lady Jackets, ranked No. 14 in the latest NAIA poll, placed third of four schools at the University of Rochester Invitational in New York. Baldwin-Wallace won the meet with 41 points and was followed by Hope (42), Cedarville (45), and host Rochester (98). Becky Jordan paced Cedarville by placing second in 19:23 for the 5,000 meters. Others to score were Rachelle Elder (6th; 19:49), Christy Taylor (11th; 20:14), Rebecca Jenks (14th; 20:27), and Jill Breckenfeld (18th; 20:34).
MEN -- The Cedarville men should have helped their No. 22 rating in the NAIA poll by winning the Rochester event with 38 points. Rochester Tech was second with 76 points and was followed by host Rochester (82), a tie between Hope and Baldwin-Wallace (83 each), and Hobart (156). The Yellow Jackets had a balanced effort over the 8,000 meters with their top five finishers consisting of Ben Thompson (6th; 26:42), Eric Crawford (7th; 26:51), Joel Peterson (10th; 27:01), Ed Letts (13th; 27:13), and David Rea (16th; 27:20).
Oct. 10, at Ohio Intercollegiate Championship
WOMEN -- The Lady Jackets made an impressive showing by placing eighth out of 37 schools with 265 points. Bowling Green won the event with 40 points. Becky Jordan paced Cedarville in 28th place out of 263 runners with a time of 18:52 over the 5,000 meters. Other women to score were Rachelle Elder (42nd; 19:15), Christy Taylor (59th; 19:32), Jori Forward (65th; 19:38), and Jill Breckenfeld (71st; 19:41).
MEN -- The Yellow Jackets finished 15th out of 37 teams with 362 points while Ohio State and Ohio University tied for the top spot with 85 points each. Eric Crawford placed 26th of 257 runners in 26:07 for the 8,000 meters. Also for Cedarville were Joel Peterson (55th; 26:54), Ben Thompson (73rd; 27:16), Steve McGillivray (90th; 27:27), and Chris Merrell (118th; 27:50).
Sept. 27, SEVENTH ANNUAL FRIENDSHIP INVITATIONAL
WOMEN -- Berry GA outran nine other teams with 22 points while host Cedarville finished second with 46 and Kenyon placed third with 91 points. Becky Jordan covered the 5,000 meters in 18:33 to lead the Yellow Jackets in 4th place. Others in the team's top five were Rachelle Elder (8th; 19:18), Christy Taylor (11th; 19:27), Jori Forward (13th; 19:43), and Jill Breckenfeld (14th; 19:48). COMPLETE WOMEN'S MEET RESULTS
MEN -- The Yellow Jackets claimed their own Friendship Invitational with 25 points while Huntington had 69 and Berry totalled 83 to round out the top three schools. Ben Thompson paced the Jackets in 3rd place with a time of 25:45 for the 8,000 meters. Others for Cedarville were Ed Letts (4th; 25:52), Eric Crawford (5th; 26:00), Joel Peterson (8th; 26:15), and David Rea (10th; 26:23). COMPLETE MEN'S MEET RESULTS
Sept. 20, at Midwest Collegiate Championship
WOMEN -- Cedarville had 513 points to wind up 17th out of 39 schools at the prestigious Midwest Collegiate Championships. Western State CO won the title with 91 points with Northwest Missouri State (111) and New Hampshire (124) rounding out the top three. Rachelle Elder crossed the line first for the Jackets in 19:57 to place 81st out of 425 competitors. Others to score for the women were Becky Jordan (92nd; 20:06), Christy Taylor (116th; 20:22), Rebecca Jenks (141st; 20:39), and Jori Forward (149th; 20:44).
MEN -- The Yellow Jackets made a solid statement with the first NAIA national rating coming up by placing 12th of 38 teams with 329 points. Cal Poly Pamona won it with 67 points and was followed by Western State CO (92) and Edinboro PA (110). Eric Crawford again led the way by finishing 44th of 438 runners in 26:51. Others for Cedarville included Ed Letts (47th; 26:54), Ben Thompson (63rd; 27:09), David Rea (78th; 27:20), and Eddie Nehus (156th; 28:07).
Sept. 6, at Asbury Invitational
WOMEN -- The Lady Jackets placed 2nd with 31 points to NCAA Division I Morehead State, who finished with 24. Asbury KY totalled 87 points while Clinch Valley VA had 114 in the four-team field. Becky Jordan covered the 5,000 meters in 20:00 and finished 2nd overall. The rest of the Cedarville top five included Megan Hill (4th; 20:46), Christy Taylor (7th; 20:56), Jill Breckenfeld (8th; 21:03), and Rachelle Elder (10th; 21:03).
MEN -- Morehead State won the men's race as well with 25 points while Cedarville had 32. The rest of the field included Asbury KY (101), Shawnee State (110), Kentucky Christian (124), and Clinch Valley VA (162). Eric Crawford paced the Jackets in 3rd place with a time of 27:27 for the 8,000 meters. Others for Cedarville were Ben Thompson (7th; 27:48), David Rea (8th; 27:52), Ed Letts (10th; 28:15), and Joel Peterson (11th; 28:27).
