May 25, 2009 (Final Entry)
Cedarville sent a number of athletes to St. Louis for the NAIA National Championships this past weekend. The team left last Tuesday and came back on Saturday. The NAIA meet is very competitive. However, it's not all serious business all week long, as the team went to the St. Louis Arch and the St. Louis Zoo during the trip! The coaches always do a great job planning our meets, no matter if it's a one day meet or a week-long trek.
The main thing I've heard about the weekend is that it was hot. Heat is not bad if you are a sprinter or do field events, but for everything higher than the 200 meters it makes things tough. It seems it was upwards of 90 degrees with humidity on the track. The extra heat clearly affected times, as last year's 10K champion Aron Rono ran 28:15 at Stanford last year, but ran in the 30:20's this year.
However, we still had two All-Americans during the competition! Justin Hoffman was third in the 110 meter hurdles and Josh Wiseman was fourth in the racewalk. Our 4 x 100 meter team also set a new school record (again) in the semifinals. All-in-all, it was a pretty good meet.
It's weird to think that the track season is over, even though my season ended several weeks ago. It just seemed like yesterday we were having our first meeting for indoor track, now everyone is driving home from the NAIA meet. Congrats to all who ran this year, it was a great season. Praise God for the opportunities He has given us! Thanks to all who read this blog, I hope you all have a great summer! God bless.
May 11, 2009
This past week was the last chance to qualify for NAIA Nationals. We put on a home meet and invite other local schools to come and attempt to qualify as well. Typically it is a smaller meet, with NAIA schools and a few D-II and D-III schools in the NCAA. We still had many great performances and qualifiers. It's tough to turn around from a grueling finals week and NCCAA meet and compete well, but many on our team did just that.
Brandon Tress qualified automatically in the 400 meter hurdles at a meet in Tiffin earlier last week. Our 4 x 100 relay team has just continued to get faster, running 41.81 and bettering their automatic qualifying mark. Jud Brooker ran a 1:54 in the 800 and won the event. Ethan Blagg and Jordan Davies also ran very well in the 800, running a 1:56 and 1:58, respectively. Seth Campbell and Josh Wiseman finished 1-2 in the race walk.
Now the coaches will need to pick three athletes who have a "B" mark to compete at Nationals. NAIA Nationals are in two weeks in St. Louis. Until then, the team will train and prepare for the meet. For those who haven't qualified, it's time to relax and recover from the long season. I'm pretty excited for those going to Nationals, it promises to be a very exciting meet!
May 4, 2009
Well, this week has been a crazy week, to say the least. We had NCCAA Nationals this weekend which as you can imagine is quite a crazy weekend to have them. I forgot just how exhausting finals week can be! It's always interesting because you just go and go and go and go, then you have a track meet as well! Even still, Cedarville has done well at NCCAA's in the past. This year was no different as there were many great performances.
I was at the meet Friday night to watch some of the qualifying races as well as a few final races. I was not at the meet Saturday as I was at graduation. It's always a dilemma every year for the seniors to decide between graduation and running at the meet. I didn't run either day, but I was fortunate enough to watch on Friday. The weather was downright nasty for most of the day, until the 10K began around 6:30 p.m. Based on the pictures I have seen from Saturday, the weather appeared to clear up the next day.
We had some great performances on Saturday, most notably Ben Michaud winning the shot put for the fourth year in a row. Very impressive. To win the shot put at NCCAA's every year in college is no small feat. Ben also qualified for NAIA's later this month, so a pretty good day for him. Justin Hoffman won both the 100 meter and 400 meter hurdles. Our 4 x 100 team won and got the school record (congrats to Beight, Benjamin, Smith, and Starr).
Other All-Americans (top 3) included Jud Brooker in the 800 meters, T.J. in the 10K (great race), Jordan Molstre in the javelin, Brandon Tress in the 400 meter hurdles, and our 4 x 400 team with a third place finish. I wish I would have been there for the 4 x 400, it's always a great race! Congratulations to everyone who ran! We have one last chance to qualify for NAIA's on the year. The last-chance meet is this Friday at Cedarville. Have a great week everyone! God bless!
April 27, 2009
This week was very different for us. The craziest thing was the weather. On Wednesday we had to cancel a track workout because it was rainy and cold. Then, two days later, we were running in nearly 80-degree weather. Very odd. But nevertheless, this past week was just a time to heal. Several people on the team were either sick or a bit banged-up coming off the big win at the American Mideast Conference Championship.
Personally, I was in the sick category. I am especially notorious for always being sick. Throughout my career I have a history of getting sick after meets that were incredibly taxing on my body. The AMC meet was a long weekend with a lot of events, not much recovery, and a 16-hour round-trip bus ride. With time and a weekend off from racing, I'm sure that many on the team will be feeling much better next week.
This coming weekend is a pretty big meet - the NCCAA Outdoor meet at Indiana Wesleyan University. Competition is generally very good, typically better than the NCCAA Indoor meet. It's a great meet both individually and as a team. So hopefully, we rest up and heal up for a good meet. Those who want to qualify for NAIA's will have two more chances - this weekend and the following Friday at a home meet. So that's all for now, everyone enjoy the weather! Have a great week!
April 20, 2009
Wow, what a weekend! Probably one of the best trips I've been on in college. From Thursday through Sunday morning we were at our AMC Championship at Roberts Wesleyan. We left Thursday morning, ran there and relaxed that night in Rochester at Roberts Wesleyan.
Friday we had several events that night, including the 10K and the 4 x 800 meter relay. The men and women both won! Saturday we had the rest of the events, resulting in the men winning the AMC title! We celebrated by going to Niagra Falls and eating at the Hard Rock Café on the American side of the falls, then hit the road and got home at 3 a.m. on Sunday morning.
I can't possibly fit everything that I want to in this blog, so I'll just pick out a few highlights for the guys team. Number one, we won the AMC! We haven't done that in eight years, so it's been a long time coming. Malone, who is our rival in track and cross country, ran VERY well, winning a few throwing events, the 800 meters, 1500 meters, 5K, and 3K Steeplechase. However, it was truly a team victory, as everyone on our team stepped up. Guys were hurting at the end because they just put everything they had into the meet. Coach Bo was voted the Coach of the Year, a very cool honor for him!
One thing that is so interesting about our win is that the last time we won conference, we had some very good athletes on the team. One of them now trains with Brian Clay, who won the gold medal in Beijing in the decathlon. A few others have run professionally since they have graduated from Cedarville. Needless to say, it's a big accomplishment! Malone is so tough, they have many very good athletes who will go on to compete after college. Thanks to God for our victory, I just hope that we can honor Him through it!
One quick story about the meet. Saturday morning, one of the first events of the day was the triple jump. Travis Smith had an inch lead on a Malone jumper going into the last jump. The Malone guy went first. He broke out a tremendous jump, going a foot past Travis, giving him a one foot lead over Travis. The Malone people went crazy, yelling and screaming. Somehow I think Travis knew he would out-jump the Malone guy, he just seemed way too calm about his last jump.
Travis went into his last jump and broke out a jump that was one foot past the Malone guy, giving him a 3-foot PR on the day and a "B" mark for NAIA Nationals! I don't think I've ever been so happy about a triple jump in my life! Our whole team went CRAZY, people were jumping and screaming! One of our coaches, Coach Scott, was so happy that he threw a small, yellow hand-held calculator half-way across the track, then proceeded to do cart-wheels down the track. I think maybe at that point we all thought "Hey, maybe we can win this thing!"
But again, congrats to Malone on a great meet, it was a fight down to the end! Thanks to the coaches on a great trip, and praise to God!
April 13, 2009
This past weekend was an interesting one for the team. Some athletes took the weekend off and went home, others stayed and ran at Miami (Ohio) University, and a few others went to a highly competitive meet at Tennessee. It's hard to generalize for the entire team, but for those at Miami it was a chance for people to run events they don't normally run. Again, this was just an opportunity for each person to do what they needed to do to get ready for the American Mideast Conference meet at Roberts Wesleyan this weekend.
I heard from those at the University of Tennessee that the trip was pretty crazy. There were tornadoes in the area on Friday, which led to a lot of confusion about whether or not the meet was canceled. At the last minute, UT decided to go ahead with the meet. If there's one thing that track and field athletes hate most it's being pressed for time to warm-up. However, our athletes still competed very well despite the circumstances.
Miami is always a fun meet. Usually the weather is downright awful, typically being very cold and windy. However, God blessed us with a great day this year! Once again, this was just another example of how solid competition brings the best out of everyone. This was a good opportunity for everyone, but I think I speak for everyone on the men's team when I say that winning conference this year is our focus.
The AMC meet is a weekend when we load up in many events and try to take as many points as possible. This strategy usually results in lots of really, really tired people by the end of the meet! I'm really excited to go to Roberts Wesleyan this year. Our main competition this weekend will be, as always, Malone University. Malone has the best distance team in the NAIA, as well as many great athletes in other events. They won the conference meet last year, so we'll see what we can do this year. More to come next weekend, God bless.
April 6, 2009
This past weekend was the meet at Cincinnati, near my hometown in Fairfield. It was a bit of a homecoming for me, as I saw many old high school rivals there, as well as my high school coach. The competition was good at UC, but our team ran very well. Many times good competition will bring out the best in you, and I think this past weekend we saw just how well our team can run. There were numerous PR's across the board. It was a beautiful, sunny day and as always a great day to run!
One thing that was so impressive about everyone running well at the meet is that we are training through these weeks, looking toward the AMC and NCCAA meets. Our better days are ahead, yet we still ran very well as a team! The crazy thing is that we have only one more meet until the AMC meet.
This weekend we run at Miami (Ohio), which is also very near my hometown. The season is wrapping up quickly, but this past weekend was very refreshing to see some of my old friends and old stomping grounds. Congrats to all my teammates who ran at UC, even better days are ahead. To those out there who are feeling the crunch of classes and school, hang in there! Keep seeking God, even when it's hard!
March 30, 2009
This weekend was our home outdoor meet. The weather is always a concern here at home, especially temperature and wind. On Friday, it seemed we were going to have thunderstorms in the late afternoon on Saturday. The rain held off, but it was very windy. There were not very many teams at the meet, but it was a good opportunity to be able to try some different events.
I haven't looked through all the results yet, but I felt it was a solid day overall for the team. Many of us were feeling the mid-season rust, some due to fatigue and others due to minor injuries. The first few outdoor meets are just a time to get acquainted to new events and new conditions. I had forgotten the difference between running 5K's and 10K's. I was a bit shell-shocked while running my 10K, as it had been a long time since I had raced in that event.
It will just take a little time. I know we have some big improvements in store for many on the team. I know we will have some big performances. This weekend is a meet at Cincinnati, my old stomping grounds. The UC meet has good competition. I'm very excited - I know it's going to be a great meet!
I would be remiss if I didn't mention several friends and alumni that were at the meet this past weekend. Matt Clark, a 2007 grad, ran the 1,500. He took a weekend off to travel with his wife and visit Cedarville. Also, 2006 grad Ben Shroyer was here to participate in the 5K to help him prepare for the Boston Marathon. Both are cross country and track alumni. Also, our chaplain Bud May was also at the meet. It was great to see all three of them!
March 23, 2009
This weekend the team was at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Unfortunately, I was not with the team again as I had an incredible workload at the end of the week. Yep, school work does get in the way of college sometimes! I heard nothing but great things about the meet. Really, there's a lot to love about the Emory trip. I can remember last year running the 10K in probably the most ideal weather conditions I have ever run in. At 8 a.m. it was about 60 and clear on the track.
Beside having incredible weather, this year also had some very good competition. This meet was much more competitive than other meets we have run there in the past. A lot of the freshmen and sophomores were able to try some events they had never run before, which is always exciting. As I said last week, outdoor offers a lot more selection in the events that one can run. One thing of note was that our 4 x 800 team of Kevin Kuhn, Evan Thayer, Jordan Davies, and Jud Brooker broke another school record, this time breaking the outdoor record! Congrats to those guys and everyone who ran at Emory!
The team got back Sunday at 4 a.m., ready and eager to start the week afresh. This week we'll be back at it, preparing for our home meet this weekend. This will be a great meet if the weather holds up. Everyone out there have a great week, hopefully we'll see you this weekend!
March 16, 2009
It was a bit of an off week this week, mostly for getting in mileage and getting some rest if needed. It was a great week to recharge this week and get back into the swing of things. This week we have a meet in Atlanta at Emory University. Emory has a beautiful campus and a great track facility. There always great weather down in Atlanta, and this year seems to be no exception, as the forecasts show 65 and sunny for Saturday.
This weekend begins the official outdoor season! I can't believe how the time flies. We'll be graduating before we know it! Outdoor always goes very fast, and I'm sure this year won't be an exception. The goal is to keep mileage consistent these next several weeks and increase intensity a bit. That's all for now, stay tuned!
March 9, 2009
So, this week was NAIA Indoor Nationals in Johnson City, Tennessee. This is our most competitive meet of the year by far. Qualifying to this meet is definitely an accomplishment, and we had great representation there. The meet was also filmed by FloTrack.org, which probably means nothing to most people, but it's kinda like the Hulu or Youtube of running. I was stoked about that, because I could watch the races online instead of trying to figure out what happened just by looking at static results.
The biggest news of the weekend was we had two National Champions! How big of a deal is this? Well, I'm glad you asked. This weekend we had TWO champions, Josh Wiseman in the 3k Racewalk and Nicole Santos in the 5k. Wiseman basically put enough pressure on last year's national champion from Concordia that this guy had to walk with illegal form just to keep up with Wiseman. It was obvious from the video that last year's champ was walking illegally, which can disqualify you from the race, which was the case this year. Basically, Wiseman was just too fast! Congrats Wiseman!
The woman's 5k was a very good race. Essentially, Nicole led from the start until the finish. That can be a precarious situation, as you are the target that everyone is chasing. Two different athletes came up to challenge, one fell off just after a mile, the other fell off with about two laps to go. Nicole ran a tough race, deciding to take the lead and push the pace. She won over the people who were doing the video for Flotrack, as one of the guys filming said "I'm pulling for Santos, she's just really working hard out there." So that's pretty high praise! Congrats to Nicole not only on a great race, but her career here!
For the guys, we also had Ben Michaud place as an All-American in the shot put. Ben has also had a great career here, as he three-peated as an All-American at Nationals. The only other person to be All-American at Indoor Nationals for 3 years in a row is Jason Scott. Congrats to Ben for another great indoor performance!
The best part is that the season isn't over yet, we are just beginning outdoor track! Outdoor brings new events into the fold, including the 5k racewalk, 400 hurdles, hammer throw, discus, steeplechase, and the 10,000 meters. On a personal note, last week was great to increase mileage and relax. I had a great run on Friday of last week when I ran my long run of the week on trails behind my house. God just impressed upon my mind all the people who have been instrumental in my life, all my heroes, all my mentors. It was just a great time to get my mind off my failed Indoor season. God is good.
March 2, 2009
For those not competing at NAIA Indoor Nationals, this past week was more of a "pre-season type" week. That typically entails a lot of base mileage with a lower intensity. It was good to just be able to get back to the roads and relax. I know for me it was a much-needed break, both mentally and physically.
We have about four weeks until our next race down at Emory in Atlanta. That will be our first outdoor meet, which I know personally I'm pretty excited about!
Those who are running at nationals are leaving Wednesday to head down to Johnson City, Tennessee. The meet starts Thursday and runs through Saturday, no pun intended. Last year Flotrack.org was at nationals to record the races, and hopefully they'll be there again this year. I'm excited for everyone who is going, I think they're going to have some very good individual performances.
So for this week, more mileage, a few workouts, and lots of sleep! I'll definitely be checking out the results online, and hopefully I'll be able to watch the races. Everyone enjoy your spring break, the end of school will be here before you know it!
Feb. 23, 2009
This past weekend we had the NCCAA National Championship here at Cedarville in the Doden Field House. It was great to see current students as well as alums come out to watch us. The field house looked great - those who planned and set up the track did a great job.
The women are national champions for the fourth year in a row! The men were fourth for the second year in a row. I know we can do better as a team, though it’s hard to get everyone on the team to perform well on the same day. That’s one reason why the women's team winning four years in a row is so impressive. Congrats to them for another great meet!
Further on the women's side, Alexa Winik was named the Outstanding Performer or the Meet. Not only did she win both the 55 and 200, but she set school records in both. She was also a part of the 4 x 400 team with Marla Rice, Bethany Davies, and Carolyn Cann who set the meet and field house record. As a freshman - that's typically a pretty solid day.
Also, the women's middle-distance and distance runners dominated, getting at least first and second in everything from the 800 up to the 5K, also getting third in the mile and third in the 3K. We also had the national champion in the high jump, Courtnie Merritt, as well as sixth and seventh in the event. Congrats again to the women's team, National Champions!
On the men's side, we had several great performances. Ben Michaud won the shot-put for the second year in a row. Justin Hoffman won the 55 meter hurdles and set the school record in 7.58 as a freshman. Marcus Benjamin also had a school record in the 200 meters in 23.07.
Christian Maat was third in the weight throw, Travis Smith was fourth in the triple jump, and Kevin Kuhn was third in the 800. Evan Thayer ran a very smart and tough mile and was the national runner-up. Sammy Starr was second in the 400 meters, and was a part of the team with Mike Beight, Brandon Tress, and Kevin Kuhn who were national runners-up in the 4 x 400 meters. T.J. Badertscher was sixth in the 5K and Alex Moore was sixth in the 3K. Congrats to all the guys on their performances.
Many of us are done for the indoor season. Those who qualified will go to NAIA Nationals in Johnson City, Tennessee to run at Eastern Tennessee State University. The meet will be held March 5-7. We have a lot of talented people who are going to run very well at Nationals. Their training will be a bit easier the next two weeks, and next week especially.
The meet is a 3-day meet. So, I’ll have to find someone to help me out with the blog next week! For those who didn’t qualify, it’s back to training for outdoors. Personally, I can’t wait to run 25 laps on the outdoor track, and I mean that in all seriousness. There are those who find the 10K a foolish sentiment, a trifling triviality. Ok, so I really don’t know what “trifling” means, but I thought it was solid use of alliteration. Anyway, I’m excited about the 10K and outdoors and warm weather (maybe).
Good luck to everyone at NAIA’s, and I leave you with this thought: “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22
Feb. 16, 2009
Last week the team was at Findlay for one final meet before NCCAA's. It was a last chance to qualify for our Christian Nationals meet at home this coming weekend.
We had three school records at Findlay - men's 60 meters, women's 60 meters, and women's 200. It's awesome to see school records go down like that! I can remember one alum commenting that in her time here at Cedarville she saw maybe a handful of records go down and how the books were being re-written in recent years.
It was another week of training for me with a large focus on this weekend. There's been a lot of conversation about race strategy this weekend as I'm running the 5K and the 3K. Needless to say, it's going to be an exciting weekend.
Coach Bolender told us today that last year the difference between 1st through 4th for teams was 14 points which is ridiculously close. Winning a race scores 10 points and the points decline down through 8th place which gives you 1 point. So it's going to be a tight race for both men's and women's teams, but I think we can do it. The women have won three years in a row, we have won two out of three years.
Plus, our coach told us today that the meet is streaming online! Our families can watch it live online Saturday morning and afternoon! That's pretty sweet. It's a big step for the meet and for our school, as we are the hosts. So I'm very excited.
So, if you can make it, please come out and watch us this weekend in the Doden Field House. It's even inside, so you don't have to worry about being cold! Fan support goes a LONG way in track, even though many times the spectators may feel otherwise.
If you can, we would love to have you guys out there Saturday at 10! There will be quite a lengthy entry to come next week, so be sure to check that out!
Feb. 9, 2009
I tell you, it was great this week just to focus on training and get some extra mileage in. Many of the distance guys who have been racing strong took the week off from racing at DePauw.
DePauw didn't have a 5K, so many of us rested or worked on more training. I wasn't at the meet which was in Indiana, but I've looked over the results. It was a good chance for the field events to work on their form, as well as a chance for our 4 x 400 relay team to get another shot at the school record. They missed it, but I'm pretty confident they'll get it! They were really close at Indiana. The crazy thing is that I know they will all improve just in the next few weeks.
The high school meet on Saturday was huge. Lots of teams, lots of kids competing. One high school athlete nearly jumped 7 feet in the high jump which is crazy.
There was also a school from Pittsburgh here which is crazy, too. It went well, despite a few minor issues we had at the finish line. Considering the number of athletes, it went very well.
This weekend will be Findlay, Ohio, then Christian College Nationals (NCCAA) here at Cedarville. Well, I'm going to try to get in a nap before practice, more to come next week!
Feb. 2, 2009
This past weekend we competed at Indiana University in Bloomington. Any time you compete at a Division I meet it is quite an experience. The facility was awesome. The track was a 200-meter track with banked turns, the first time I’d ever run on a banked track in my career.
The track was also connected to the basketball court, which is clearly one of the most important buildings on campus. The concourse of the arena was open for warm-ups, during which we saw Indiana’s head basketball coach Tom Crean jogging.
I always get pretty fired up whenever I compete at big venues such as this. I can remember during Fall Break going to see the D-I Cross Country Pre-National meet in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was just an incredible experience, seeing such incredible talent all in one place at one time. It’s easy to be intimidated when you line up across from people who run for Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio State. However, as a whole we had an exceptional meet, with numerous PR’s by many people on the team.
I wish I could go through and list all the events that really stuck out in my mind, but then I’d be writing a book! Our team competed very well, especially considering that it was only our third meet of the year. That kind of competition just helps to push you to another level, sometimes a level you don’t know you had. Some of us didn’t have the greatest days, myself included. But that’s the way it goes when you’re in training. And some days you’re just not on top of your game. In baseball, a pitcher doesn’t always have his best breaking-pitches all the time, and some days your legs just don’t have it.
From here, we have meets at DePauw and Findlay. Indiana was a lot of fun and a great experience. Watching guys that run for Brooks and Reebok run a sub-14 5K was just incredible. In other words, that’s three 4:30-ish miles run back-to-back-to-back. Sick.
And then there was the guy who ran the 4:01 mile, or the Nike shot-putter who threw over 65 feet. Anyway, all that to say it was just an awesome meet, and I thank God that I had the chance to go this year!
This week was what we like to call a typical week. For the most part, we "trained through" the week, which basically means that our intensity and volume remains high throughout the whole week, except for the pre-meet day.
By now, I would say most of us are settling into our routine that will carry us at least through indoor season, if not outdoor season as well. The goal is to try to establish productive habits early on in the season.
The meet this past Saturday was at Indiana Wesleyan, who just recently opened a pretty sweet indoor track facility. The competition was solid, though it's really nothing compared to what we'll see next week at Indiana University.
The meet wasn't scored, but we competed well enough to win, based upon my observations. We won several events, including one heat of the 200 where it was four Cedarville guys racing each other.
Off the top of my head, I think we only lost one race for guys and girls for all races 1,000 meters and above. I still haven't looked at official results to see how other events went with multiple heats and flights, but I think there were some big improvements by many people. Others, such as myself, didn't have the greatest days, but I know that better days will come.
I think I speak for the most of the team when I say that the highlight of the meet was the 4 x 400 - no offense to anyone on the team. Hopefully these guys won't mind me sharing this. We put together a "B" team of Eric Kempton, Ethan Blagg, Paul Ikeda, and Christian Maat. I'll just fill you in, Christian is a thrower. Typically you don't see throwers after throwing the shot put changing into 400 meter spikes, so to speak.
So yeah, throwers typically don't sprint. But Christian was the faithful anchor this day, and I know we all went crazy for him as he came around in an unofficial split of 71.7. Not only was it cool to see Christian have so much fun with it, but the whole team just went crazy for him. It was awesome to see everyone pull really hard for Christian, who set PR’s in the weight throw and the 400 that day.
So to everyone out there, if school or sports or ministry begins to weigh down on you, if it gets monotonous or frustrating, just remember the joy we have in Christ. Do something fun. Just hang out with people you love, enjoy their company, spend time with them.
Jan. 19, 2009
Well, this week is going to be a bit different, as I was away at "poverty weekend" for Urban Ministry. Let me just say that the class is amazing, I highly recommend it!
We had our first home meet of the year this past weekend, as well as our first high school meet. There were many very solid performances and it is always good to get that first meet under your belt. It can be hard adjusting to the dry indoor air, especially in long-distance races.
The high school meet went well from what I had heard. One of the captains told me that it went very well. I love that about our team, that we can have a meet Friday night, but still turn around the next day and put on a meet from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m! Props to our team, that's not easy to work a 12-hour day!
This coming weekend we are at Indiana Wesleyan and expect a longer entry from me for that meet.
I have a final thought, just to give honor back to God for His goodness to us. This passage of Scripture has just really made me take a step back and praise God for His grace and faithfulness to me.
Psalm 116:12-14 says, "What shall I render to the Lord, for all His benefits toward me? I shall lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord. I shall pay my vows to the Lord, O may it be in the presence of all His people!"
Jan. 12, 2009
Well, this is going to be kind of crazy because I’m writing on behalf of the entire team and several different events! It’s really cool to have this opportunity to write about what God is doing through our team. I’ve never blogged before, so this is new for me!
The indoor season officially starts in four days. To be honest, there really is no way to be totally prepared for that first meet. The first indoor meet is especially taxing, as we are trying to adjust to competition again after several months of lifting and training. Those doing field events and shorter running events have been training for all of the fall, it will be good for those guys to see some of the fruits of their training.
For us distance guys it is hard, as we have only been training for about 5-6 weeks now, mostly base mileage. Needless to say, it will be good to compete at home for the first one. Having fans there to watch is awesome, I invite you to come if you can.
This week is a pretty standard week, with Thursday as a pre-meet day. This Friday is going to be an exciting meet! I wish I was running, but I have a class commitment this weekend.
Of course, we also have the high school meet this Saturday as well, which is a crazy and long day. I actually have enjoyed working the meet the last few years, though it is a long day, as the meet starts early in the morning and runs until about 7 p.m. with an hour or so for clean-up. So it’s going to be a long weekend, but a lot of fun. I’m pretty stoked for my team, and I can’t wait to read the results!
Rob Trennepohl, a senior from Fairfield, Ohio, is a Dean's List student as a finance major. He is a four-year distance runner for the Yellow Jackets and an NCCAA Scholar-Athlete.
