Cedarville University Yellow Jackets

May 8, 2012

As we boarded the bus at 3:15 p.m. last Thursday for the NCCAA National Championship, you could tell it was a tragic week for some people. After dragging our tired, brain-sizzled bodies onto the bus we realized that there was a six-hour drive ahead of us that we could sleep our lives away. Which was great!

Personally, I thought the bus ride went quick, and we rolled into our hotel early in the night. With the one-hour time difference - it felt like we would be even more rested by the morning! (Which was exactly what some of us needed).

In the morning, some of us had the opportunity to help with a track camp for kids! Oh man, these little munchkins were the cutest 4-6 year olds learning how to do the high jump, long jump, sprints, relays, and pole vault…haha just kidding about the pole vault! But really, those kids were great and we all enjoyed being around them.

Later in the day we sweat our bodies off, running in preliminaries in the blazing sun. Little did we know that it was going to be freezing at night or else we would’ve never complained! Friday was a long day of competition. Our multi’s were up bright and early competing in their events, and we had some great results! Laura PR’d by a few hundred points, and James Blackwell and Landon Bundenthal placed first and third in the men’s competition! Woohoo - I might be joining them next year…except I think we’d have way too much fun and probably get in trouble a lot..so, it’s stiiiilll being decided.

Based on everyone’s performances, we had a lot of girls advance to the finals on Saturday. Something embarrassing, but slightly humorous happened during the 200 meters…I was in my own little world sweating to death and waiting for the officials to call my heat, and I guess I was so excited to finally run that I forgot to take my warm-up shirt off. Oh my goodness, I didn’t even realize it until I crossed the finish line! Actually, I was just trying to be really tricky and see if anyone was paying attention when I ran. Haha - again, I’m just kidding. I’m just glad I didn’t get D-qued!

After I finished my races, Bethers pulled out a huge bag of gummy bears and all of the greedy boys ate them…just kidding....us little girls beat them up for some. So while people were running we would cheer our hearts out, then eat a few bears, then cheer our hearts out again, and take some pictures, and then do it all over again. It really was a relaxing day…if you didn’t think about what you had to do the next day!

Cracker Barrel was our dinner destination, and Bethers, Anna, James, Landon, and MacKenzie were all at a table. Let’s just say Beth is a genius. She taught us this great game called Salt-Sugar Throwbacks. It’s where you get as many sugar packets as there are people sitting at the table and tear the tops off to open them. Leaving them all filled with sugar, you take one and throw the sugar out and fill it with salt. Next, the packets get shuffled around a bit and distributed. At the count of 3, you tilt your head back and pour, and hopefully what you taste is sugar and not salt. If it is the salt, you have to try and play it off until the other people at the table guess who got the salt. So anyways, before we distributed the packets, James lets all of us know that he has really bad luck, but also hoping and praying he didn’t get it. He actually wasn’t lying! His luck is terrible and he ran to the bathroom to spit the salt out without even trying to fake it! Now, Anna was a trooper…she spit it out too, but after we took a little while to guess who it was. This game got 10 times better the next night, but I’ll tell you about that later.

So anyways the next morning we were joined by some of the nursing graduates who got to participate in a ceremony on Friday so they could meet us on Saturday. We were all thankful that they were there, and that they could run in their last meet! Jen Hollander finished strong in the 5K, Rachel Wong got second in the 1,500 meters, and Katie Lanphier ended up finishing with an awesome PR in the 800 meters! Oh, we’re going to miss those seniors! Caroline, Megan, and Alexa had to stick around for graduation, but were torn that they couldn’t make it to the meet with us. A big part of our team won’t be here next year, and their running shoes and spikes will be really hard to fill. It definitely was an honor running alongside several of them! (sniff) Okay, no more crying…back to being a solid, emotionless track runner. Oh man! I wished they could stay a fifth year…who wouldn’t want to do that?

Saturday was filled with All-America athletes from Cedarville! Christina placed second in the 100 meter and 400 meter hurdles, and Bethers got second in the long jump and was rreallllly close to her lifetime PR! Val, Bitha, and Anna got third place in the 100 meter hurdles, 800 meters, and 400 meter hurdles, respectively. Great job ladies!!

So, even though we didn’t win the meet I thought it was a great way to end the year. After the awards ceremony, we all went to Al’s Steakhouse and ate delicious food! We also played the game again…this time Leyna got the salt! She was such a trooper though..it’s definitely not how we wanted to treat our beloved athletic trainer who takes care of all our aches, breaks, and pains. Sorry Leyna!

So anyway…our table devised a little plan. It was actually Jess’ brilliant idea. We wanted the other tables to play our wonderful game so Beth (most innocent and believable one) decided to teach the table with Rachel Herrera, the guy throwers, hurdlers, and sprinters. Probably the wrong lot to pick on. After filling all the sugar packets with salt (exceptRachel’s) we brought them over and counted down. Our scheme was almost ruined when Rachel figured out our plan and asked if we filled them all with salt, but we somehow convinced her to eat it anyway...while all the other guys held straight faces as their mouths burned with salt. As Mike started coughing all over the place, Greg asks what his problem was because he was the one who had the salt….THEN they all figured out we tricked them. Greatest. Plan. Ever. Some were kinda scared to fall asleep on the way home…

Anyway, it was a great weekend. What better way to end it with a few pranks and practically an all-nighter on the way home with Coach Marsh and the multi’s. Again, we’re wrapping up another year. Another GREAT year.

Thanks to all our coaches and for your encouragement. For real, I think it’s those times where you give us just a little bit of encouragement that gets us through the long season. Thanks to all the athletic trainers for taking care of us crazy, whiney, accident-prone track athletes.

Real quick a shout out to Alexa Winik. I’m really going to miss that Canadian. If it wasn’t for Coach putting us together, I’m not sure if I would’ve grown to love track. We’ve had a lot of great times together and even got a sweet nickname given to us from Coach B - the “Twinkers”.

Pain-filled 400’s and Polish 200’s,  and throwing up sessions post 400 meters were things that bonded us together. Or maybe it was the overseas semester adventures that changed our lives. It was actually those things and A LOT more. It’s always awesome to see how God works in mysterious ways and to see His plans unfold.


April 30, 2012

I didn’t get to attend the extra meet this past weekend at Miami University due to an injured ankle. Which by the way, at the track banquet, I had the honor of receiving the ‘stupid injury’ in the senior will from Chelsea Gruet. Let me just explain what senior wills are - they are passed down from the graduating seniors to the youngsters left behind. Because Chelsea had gotten a concussion from falling off backwards from a hurdle, she was nominated for this award. The reason I got it was because two weeks ago, all of the track girls were trying to escape the fierce winds of Cedarville, and went running up to the Doden Field House to do our workout on the indoor track. Well, little did we know was that this huge boulder was racing down the hill towards us, and I stepped in to hold it back so the girls could get out of the way in time!..and then sprained my ankle in the process. Ha - I wish I had a cool story like that. It was actually a stupid little rock that got me. I just stepped on it wrong and biffed it into the pavement. It was the most uncoordinated I have ever been in my life, and I am not worthy to be called an athlete. Anyway, good ole’ Leyna came to the rescue as always and has been helping me recover from my ‘stupid injury.’

Okay so back to the Miami meet. Katie, Bitha, Meghan, and Greg were the sole competitors representing Cedarville. Due to a lightning delay, Bitha and Katie had to run the 1500 meters instead of the 800 meters. Bitha went sub-five minutes and Katie PR’d. I was actually supposed to run the 800 meters as well, but good thing I didn’t go - (gasp) I think I would’ve died if I had to run the 1500 meters.

Alrighty. NCCAA’s this coming weekend. We leave Thursday! This is the week of finals and I think all of our heads are going to pop from trying to cram anything and everything in there. Running this weekend will be a GREAT stress reliever!

Now ladies…I know we’ll be missing a few of our key point scorers due to graduation and injuries. BUT, I think we can win NCC’s. Hmm..I found this quote:
Either you run the day or the day runs you.

I say, we look past the sleep-deprived, nutrition-lacking, injury-related excuses and just get out there and do our best! As my Pops would say, “Do your best, can’t ask for less.” Come on ladies, we can Dooooooo It!


April 23, 2012

The majority of the track team rolled out on Friday afternoon up to North Canton, Ohio. I was part of the 6 p.m. group, but I heard that the early buses had a nice pre-meet workout  and pasta dinner before heading back to the hotel. Slept in a comfortable bed, ate a big breakfast, and we were off to Walsh University. Remember, our goal from the last blog was to win this meet…

This is what we were up against: Freezing winds. Torrential downpour. Fiery flames of death.

Coach told us it builds character. And character we shall build!

OK, well the weather wasn’t THAT bad. For sure there were no fires (would’ve helped with the cold though), and it only rained for the first few hours. Just a little on the chilly side. Anyway, that didn’t stop some great winds!...I mean...wins! Bitha came through with a first place finish in the 800 meters, and Katie in the 400 meter hurdles. I just want to add, the one heat of that hurdle race was beautiful. Out of the top six finishers, we had five! It was nice to see that many yellow jerseys out in the front…representing!

Alexa also had a neck-to-neck finish with long-legged lady from Central State, but our beloved Canadian came out with the win! Bethers had a nice PR and win in the long jump, along with Rachel Wong in the 1,500 meters. A good amount of girls on the team got a few season PR’s which is GREAT….aaand all that added up to the Cedarville women’s track and field team becoming  the 2012 OHIO INDEPENDENT CHAMPIONS! (And the boys won too-woohoo)!

One little thing that is in the process of being sorted…the 4 x 100 meter relay team MIGHT have gotten the school record this weekend. Key word: might. We were clocked at 48.1 tying with Central State. Three of our coaches had us at 49.something-ish on hand-held times. Hmm…I guess we’ll have to be patient and see what they say.

I have a liiiitle confession to make about this track meet. I definitely teared up a little after running the 400 meters with Alexa…(this was while we couldn’t breathe from running so fast, so that didn’t help). But, we both agreed to do the unhealthy thing and keep our tears in for the next two weeks.

So. This weekend. A few people have an option of competing at Miami University again. This’ll be the laaaast chance for some of the seniors to squeeze in a PR or two. So, I’ll give an update about that later.

Also, I just want to throw this out there….next week is finals! (GASP)…..(sniff)…(sobs)…

Ugh, let’s just say, we all have a lot of cramming to do (haha).


April 16, 2012

I’d like to apologize if my crazy hairs flying around in the video blog distracted you from watching the show. I wish I had the rap prepared for that, but no worries, come to the track meeting on Tuesday to hear me spit some rhymes…that’s only if someone consents to beat boxing for me…

Anyway, two weeks and finals to go. Either everyone is slowly fading into that ‘summer is almost here, my brains have turned to mush’ OR ‘I can’t wait to be done school so I can get married’ thought processes.

Mine miiiight be the first one, definitely not the latter. Two seniors, Katie Lanphier and Alexa Winik, are the ones getting married…That’d be so cool if they wore their track spikes and spandex under their wedding dresses (hahaa). Ah, we’re getting ahead of ourselves though - First, we have the OIC this Saturday, and NCCAA Championship and graduation in two weekends.

Aye yai yai, the 2011-2012 school year is almost done! So far it has been a great season…Ladies, I say we finish it off with a bang. Some guy once said, “A goal is a planned event.” So here’s the planned event: Ohio Independent Championship in North Canton this Saturday. Our goal: to Wiiiiiiiin.

Let’s listen to Nike’s advice and JUST DO IT.
     

April 2, 2012

1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place and 4,

Squashed 14 teams with a 189 score.

Ladies of Cedarville, be thankful, be proud,

Cuz’ we were so blessed to have an audience that loud.

Families from Canada, China, & Puerto Rico,

Watched their familiar sprinters run anything but slow.

Cloudy skies held several back,

But Cedarville girls stayed on track.

Neola’s a distance girl that steepled so long,

While winning the 1,500 was Rachel Wong.

Runner-up Winik in the 200 dash,

Including sprint relays taking the 1st place flash.

Kirk and Schmid were the hurdle champs,

While Lanphier, 800 winner, fought through runner’s cramps.

Bethers Jones jumped long and far,

With those two wins I’d say she’s a Track & Field star.

PR’s galore throughout the team,

Winning neon shirts was everyone’s dream.

Thank you Cedarville for hosting the meet,

And for the ‘Lady Jackets dominate’ tweet.

Hope you all enjoyed that…if we could post videos in this blog I would’ve rapped it! Anyway…GIRLS, you were TOTALLY WICKED! O em gee, I can’t even count how many PR’s there were. (Sniff)…made me so proud!

Okayyy enough of the tears - game faces are on for this upcoming meet. We are all headed to Miami. Unfortunately not the Sunshine State. You should’ve seen my face during freshman year when I found out we had a meet in Miami….Ohio. Woohoo. Anyway, it sounds like it should be a very competitive meet and goals have been set to take down those relay records.

We shall see! Till next time…


March 27, 2012

First trip to Emory…ohhh boy what a memory!

No poem this time, sorry - that other one took like 5 hours…

Anyway, the Georgia trip was a blast. We all definitely packed way too much. I had to roll up my memory foam mattress and lug that on the bus, all while Coach’s words of “try not to bring anything big” played back in my head. Technically, all we actually needed was our track kit and running shoes, buuuuut a few other important things like a football and shampoo got shoved in there, too.

We left Cedarville around 10 p.m., and popped in Cool Runnings. I sat in the back with Bethers and some of the hoodlum boys (Corey, Mike, Curtis, Mark, and Steve), and I specifically gave instructions to not wake me up because I tend to not be as “joyful.” Beth was the only one that heard me I guess, because when we arrived at a rest stop I woke up to a cell phone light shining in my eyeballs. O em gee Mark, thanks for that, and sorry for the death glare I gave you. The rest of the trip included me getting kicked in the head while people stepped over me, listening to the boys making unusual noises, and waking up to a few legs looming over my face, waiting for its owner to twitch and drop on my head. Quite a lovely trip down if I do say so myself.

Georgia on My Mind by Michael Buble was playing on my ipod at some point this trip…I figured it would be appropriate for the occasion.
Before we reached Emory, we stopped at Stone Mountain. Yup, the same one that the KKK enthusiasts held meetings at and Martin Luther King Jr. mentioned in his speech, “Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!" We had the option to explore, so after waking up from my nap on the bus, I packed a bag filled with snacks, water, a Bible, a Francis Chan book called Crazy Love, phone, blanket, and pocket knife and went exploring. It was cool to just get away and have some quiet time and to soak up God’s creation. I was even kind of tempted to ‘get lost’ in the woods somewhere so I didn’t have to run the next day. Just kiiiiidding Coach!

We all started getting pumped up when we arrived at Emory. I personally thought the track was beautiful, and Coach just let us go free to do our pre-meet routines. People were running around warming up, and I swear I saw one of our jumper girls...last name Jones (cough)..strained her neck when she did a double take on a set of washboards. Haha I’m only kidding...but she did get a little red and blushed when I called her out on it….possibly blaming it on the Georgia sun. Good cover up!

Coach gave a few of us the responsibility of going grocery shopping for breakfast supplies. A tear of joy came down my face as I took the credit card from him. This was a proud moment for me. My dream was finally fulfilled. I waited my whole life to have the opportunity to meticulously plan out a meal for the track team. All I wanted in life was to give everyone the opportunity to have a good, HEALTHY breakfast and now was my chance! Unfortunately, a few of us girls were paired up with some unhealthy boys so it was quite the battle. We all came to an agreement and tossed the high fructose corn syrup filled pop tarts and replaced them with nutritious applesauce and fruit cups. My mom would be so proud right now (sniff).

We had a nice set up thanks to the Luther Rice Seminary, and my party animal roommates flipped the lights off at before 10 p.m. Needless to say, we all caught up on sleep and were ready to walk around the Olympic Park in Atlanta. We took some great pictures and even got kicked off a statue while Coach took a picture…too bad the security lady couldn’t get in it.

Okay, so Friday afternoon was the first day of competition. Our high jumpers, Mackenzie and Laura, jumped for 8th and 9th place respectively. Beth long jumped for 4th and Mackenzie for 5th, while one of our throwers, Megan Glandon, PR’d in her hammer throw. That’s what I like to see ladies! One more detail. Ever since I ran in the 4 x 800 relay on Friday, Alexa has been accusing me of going over to the dark side. Not literally, because I’m already pretty dark, but she has made an accusation that I have become a middle distance runner. I would just like to let everyone know, I am still a sprinter! As long as I have these fast twitch muscle fibers in me, I refuse to be called a distance runner. Eeeeeven though there is a possibility I will be running cross country in the fall. (GASP!)

After competing, Bethers, Rachel, Katie and I were feeling a little spontaneous so we decided to jump into the olympic-sized swimming pool before showering. Good ole’ peer pressure helped Katie get on the higher diving board and jump off, and Rachel showed us all up by doing some crazy flips! Oh, and that’s not the only hidden talent on the track team…Megan Glandon is practically a ventriloquist! On, Friday night when my party animal roommates had the lights off before 10 p.m., I just laid there with my eyeballs wide open unable to sleep. Through the walls I hear so much laughing, and I decide to go see what’s going on and to make them be quiet or the zombies in my room would wake up and eat everyone. Apologies and explanations were given, in addition to a performance by Megan. She can talk with her mouth completely closed! It’s hard to explain, but you can clearly decipher what she is saying…it’s creeeeeeeeply cool, but go and ask her to do it for you!

Bags packed and back on the bus - we headed back to Emory for the last time. We ended up having Bitha and Katie place 6th and 7th in the open 800, Rachel Wong with a 9th in the 1500, and a 7th, 9th and 10th in the steeplechase by Meghan, Tabby, and Jasmin. Anna Schmid smoked some girls and got 5th in the 400 meters. Our hurdlers dominated once again and Christina came away with 2nd place and Valerie with 3rd in the 100 meter hurdles, and in the 400 meter hurdles, Christina, Carolyn, and Valerie placed 3rd, 5th, and 6th. Props to running the 400 meters while jumping over something…you ladies are troopers! Some other girls that also knocked people’s socks off were Beth and Rachel who placed 4th and 5th in the triple jump, and Jessica Danhke got 10th in discus.

[I told you all this blog was going to be long! Don’t worry…this is the last 50 meters of the 400 meters! You’re almost done!]

Tanned and burned by the sun, tired from performing, and happily full from eating Panera and Chipotle, we finally all piled back into the charter buses and made our way back to Cedarville. After a long night we rolled in at 4 a.m. and went straight to sleeeeeee…Zzzzzzz
       

March 20, 2012

B-E-A-utiful weather on Saturday in Cincinnati. The sun was out all day long, and I’m pretty sure we all came away with a lovely tan…or burn. This was an exciting meet to be at though. We all wanted to see how we could run, jump, or throw without a month of competition. I think everyone did just dandy.

A summary of the weekend accomplishments would include Alexa getting second in the 200 meters and first in the 400 meters, Katie with a third-place finish in the 400 meter hurdles, Bethers with a third as well in the triple jump, and our hurdler freshers, Valerie and Christina rolled in with sixth and seventh place. But wait, those were only our sprinters and fielders! Tabitha..a.k.a Bitha (pronounce Beeeeetha) finished seventh in the 800 meters, Rachel (our ellipticalete) got seventh in the 1500 meters, and Melanie finished seventh in the steeplechase! Wooohooo I’m so proud of you ladies!

After finishing up our events, some of us tried to beat the scorching heat and dehydration, and ran up to the frozen yogurt place! I would like to re-hash the past and explain why I was so excited to make this venture up there. Last year at the Cincy meet, Caroline, Alexa, and I ran up there after our 4 x 400 and went shopping at the Urban Outfitters. As we were leaving the store, I saw a light. It was shining directly on the frozen yogurt shop. Then some heavenly music came on and a tear of joy ran down my face. I felt like a little kid begging the girls to let me go get some before we had to go, but they sternly told me that I wasn’t allowed because there were only three heats of the men’s 4 x 400 and we had to go. Choking back a few sobs and some more tears, we went running back down to the track to sit and wait there for 10 more heats to run. That’s the end of my story. I’m not bitter at all. All that to say, I was looking forward to this meet since last year! Christina, Valerie, Alexa, and I got to finally taste that wonderful, healthy frozen yogurt. Mmmm...deliciouso!

So, we have a huge meet this weekend in Atlanta, GA! Wooohoooo - I never got to go my freshman year because of an injury, but I’ve heard great things about this meet and I’m looking forward to it!...Except maybe the long bus trip down and back. But that’s more bonding time with the team. Next week’s blog will be a long one - so prepare yourselves!

Oh, and can someone remind me before we leave on Wednesday to bring SUNBLOCK! I kind of want to keep my mocha color, and I’m sure the Pale Paula’s don’t want to come back looking like a piece of turkey bacon…


March 13, 2012

This upcoming week is the time when we either feel really guilty or proud…all depending on what exercise-related activities went on the past week. Our spring break training was more of a volume over intensity week, which always seems to be the worst!

I think Coach’s motivational, yet guilt-tripping words of “Don’t let down your team by not working out this week” got the best of us, and so far, everyone I’ve talked to was diligent in their training. Woohoooo. I got to spend my break soaking up the sun in Pensacola, FL, and came away with a great tank top tan from running around outside. But…Everyone put away your sunblock, flip-flops, and shades…we’re back in cold, windy Ohio. (Sniff).

The Cincinnati Open is on Saturday. We were told it’s a relay meet - which means we pair up with someone and earn as many points as we can! Sounds legit to me! Oh, and the predicted weather is 70 degrees with slight rain…sounds like perfect track meet weather to me!

Real quick I want to end with a quote I found by Theodore Roosevelt…

“A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.”

Haha!


February 21, 2012

February 18th, was the NCCAA Championship meet,

“Let’s win this!” was the popular tweet.

Woke up, ate breakfast, and packed my track duffel,

Walked briskly to Callan, not with a slight shuffle.

I even had it written in my day planner,

To do: Run a bunch of races and win a banner.

Boy oh boy…what a day!

Great meet for the Canadians to be at….eh?

While Mr. Jones came to watch Bethers jump,

The rest of us ran like Forrest Gump!

Race after race we prepped with leg swings,

To get em’ warm, so we’d get those wings,

And when that happens, y’all take heed,

Cuz Cedarville tracksters have a need for speed!

Mr. Yoder, thanks for taking pics during our races,

Although, you have a knack for catching our ugliest faces.

With green t-shirts and a matching braid,

These teammates of mine I would never trade.

I’m proud of these girls for running so fast,

The whole day ended up being a blast,

We smoked those schools with our relay teams

Then we celebrated with unhealthy ice creams.

One more thing I would like to say,

To wrap it all up and put this poem away,

CU tracksters, good job, well done

One month till outdoor, get ready for a re-run.


Okay so, hope you all enjoyed that. For real though, Saturday was a great day. Everyone competed really well and I heard there were a TON of PR’s! It was a happy/sad day for the seniors on the team because this was their last indoor meet. No more shin splints from the cement track! Except for the rest of us who aren’t graduating yet...Yay.

Shout out to the hurdlers - way to sweep the 55 meter race! It was nice seeing four Cedarville jerseys in the finals, and raking in the points. Neola, Hannah, Rachel, Jen, Meghan, Tabby, Grace, Abby, and Melanie: you ladies are my heroes. In my eyes, running a 3000 or 5000 meter race is horrible. Running it indoors, is even crazier! Pretty much, you girls are horribly crazily sweet!

Oh, yea, Alexa and I were happy to get nicknames from Coach Bolender this meet. We are now called….drumroll please……..the……TWINKERS. We think he meant to call us twins or twinzies…but maybe he just mixed up twinkies and...winners? Don’t worry Coach, we love our new nickname! :)

Ladies, I just want to end with a line from  a song for you really quick.

“Weeeeeeeee aaaare the CHAAAAAAAAAMPIONS, myyyy friends!”

That’s the only part of the song I know.

Okay, see ya peoples. Have a great spring break soakin up..the skin cancer!...I mean…the SUN!! For all the Pale Paula’s, come back with a tan okay? I don’t want to be the only brown person on the team anymore.


February 14, 2012

The track and field team rolled in to the Hoosier State to compete against some pretty big, slightly intimidating schools. To name a few: Ball State, Purdue, Arkansas State, Lipscomb, Eastern Kentucky were all there being legit, but little did they know that Cedarville University was going to show up and add some small school spice to the meet.

Running on a banked track was pretty interesting, it always sounded like a herd of elephants when people ran by though. Some highlights were Hannah’s 3K that put her at 3rd overall, and Alexa’s 4th place 400 meter dash performance. Bethers jumped her heart out for a 4th place finish in the triple jump, and we also had some PR’s in the 60 meter hurdles! Our 4x4 team FINALLY reached our goal of getting under 4 minutes - now we’re just going to keep on creeeeeeeping down to get that record.

Big home meet on Saturday….the NCCAA Indoor Championship. Because our women’s team is legit, we’re going to try and get that 2012 banner to hang in the field house, right ladies?? I can just see it now, after the entire girls’ team runs, throws, jumps, and hurdles a minimum of seven events each, they announce us as the Champions, and then we take over the world!..(cough) I mean, go and receive the banner and shed a few tears of joy. If it doesn’t end up happening like that, it’s alright and I suppose we shall live.

Oh, and Valentine’s Day is on Tuesday…so in honor of that great holiday, I just want to name a few things that tracksters love:

Ice baths (Katie Lanphier loves everything about these)

Leyna ( Our wonderful athletic trainer…we promise we love you Leyna, just maybe not the excruciating muscle-knot-pusher-outers that you  do. What happened to the good ole’ fashion band-aid and kiss to make it feel better? Just kidding, we love you dearly Leyna!)

Cool downs (for some reason, these always feel like another workout to us sprinters, even though we jog soooo slowly)

The extra 400 or 200 Coach Bolender likes to slide in real quick at the end of a workout…reaaaaaal sneaky Coach!

The sick nervous, “gotta sprint to the bathroom real quick” feeling before a race

Oh, and last but not least, the white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate… it makes you think that Valentine’s Day is every weekend..

Anyway, hope you all have a LOVEly week - next time I write this blog…we will be Champions!! Knock on wood..


February 7, 2012

Track spikes. Check.
Kit. Check. (In the UK that’s what they call the uniforms)
Blanket & pillow. Check.
Lucky hair-tie. Check.
Purple baton. Check.
Water bottle. Check.
Headphones and proper pump up music. Check.
Nails done, Hair done, Everything did. Check.

For some athletes it varies, but I think that check list covers most of what goes through our heads before leaving the room. It was a big day for all Cedarville track athletes. First indoor meet at the Doden Field House this semester, and we had home court advantage. Though we had a slight one hour delay, everyone seemed to adjust and compete well. First place winners were...drumroll please.......Neola Putnam in the 1 mile with a time of 5:15.73. She had an extra strong finish and made us all proud. Next up, Bethers Jones, jumped for the gold and leapt 10.62 meters in the triple jump...I think I’ll refer to her as Jumpin’ Jones from now on. Also, our 4 x 800 meter team that consisted of Grace Campbell, Carolyn Case, Jamie Atkins, and Lauren Callahan came through in 9:59.95 to get the W!

There was also something else that happened at the meet. Something was broken. It wasn’t a pole or hurdle. And nope it wasn’t a heart either. It was….a….RECORD! Despite our horrid passes, Alexa, Katie, Christina, and I took off about 1.65 seconds off the 4 x 200 meter relay school record and ran it in 1:46.63. Good ole’ Larry Reid reprimanded us for taking his daughter’s record down….sorry Larry!

Ladies, as a team, we were only two points short of winning the entire meet! I’d say that’s pretty impressive…in two weeks we host the NCCAA Championship at Cedarville, and I think that we can get that banner back this year.

Coach Scott. One of the coolest coaches I’ve ever had. After our meet on Friday, the alumni, coaches, his wifey, and us athletes threw a party to celebrate all the years that he has dedicated to Cedarville. Some tears were shed while remembering all the fond memories…such as his hilarious jokes, his great passion for track and field, and his overall enthusiastic personality. One fond memory that I have of him was when we all had to run down to the obstacle course, and climb the poles, scale the walls, and jump through tires. As a few of the girls were trying to get up the pole, but couldn’t quite reach the top, Coach Scott pipes up, “You know, you girls probably wouldn’t make it if this was your career.” Thanks Coach…haha...

The high school meet the next day was a success, despite the sleep-deprived, caffeine-loaded zombies that worked the meet (a.k.a. Cedarville athletes and coaches). Literally, there were kids of all shapes and sizes wandering around, panicking where to go to run their race. I tried to remember how it was to run in high school, and yup…I was the skinny brown kid who never knew where to go. I had the privilege working next to my F.O.C (friend on crutches), Nicole Deneseus. She is a freshman who’s injured, but we had a great time helping kids take out the three different sizes of spikes out of their shoes.

GOAL for the rest of indoor season: Please use this pick-up line on someone - “Are your legs tired, because you've been running through my mind all day long.” …Then report back to me so I can write about it in the next blog :D

Deuces.


January 30, 2012

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.

That’s an ancient Chinese proverb that my mom once told me.

As Christian athletes we can relate to this because every day that God gives us IS a present. It’s another day to run, jump, or throw for Him. Forget about the false start or bad handoff the day before, it’s already in the past. Whether we’re injured or healthy, God’s given us that extra day for us to use so we can better ourselves to bring Him glory. After all, He’s the one who’s given us the talent, right?

This past weekend our team split. We had a huge argument and Coach sent one half to Findlay and the other to Youngstown. Someone even got a black eye and some broken teef. Just kidding! No fight, but we did have to split up. The multi-event people traveled to the Malcolm Athletic Center at the University of  Findlay to run, jump, throw, and hurdle for Jesus! Our one and only Laura Farleman, represented as Cedarville’s lone pentathlete. She won the 800 meters and placed 8th overall - Good job, Laura!

Last Wednesday, Coach broke the news to us that most of us would be traveling to Youngstown State to compete. We all held our breaths as he told us it was a Division I school, four hours away. We were thinking 5a.m. would be the departure time, but thank goodness it wasn’t. (Phew!) But again, we split up into two groups.

Shuttle bus people left at 9:30 a.m., and charter bus people left at 10 a.m. Bethers (Beth Jones) and I were the backseat Baptists and had a great discussion on how we were ugly sleepers, and that she should be running some 200’s ad 400’s this season, right Mr. Jones?? Before I konked out for the next four hours, two significant things transpired. The aroma of Subway filled the shuttle, and everyone swarmed for the deliciously, brown 9-grain wheat sandwiches. I wonder why no one ever wants the white ones…(cough). Also, I got to hear Coach Bo crack a joke, saying, “Instead of hurdling hurdles, we hurdle food boxes. Food mobility.” Coach is a clever one!

Competing on a 300 meter track is always a fun one…especially when you have to figure out what areas to stand at for the 4 x 400 meter relay. Anna Schmid stepped in and ran a great anchor for that race because someone was M.I.A. Alexa Winik suffered for Jesus on a weekend getaway to Jamaica, and was sipping on smoothies in a hammock on the beach, while the rest of us ran, jumped, and threw till our legs and arms fell off (not cool, Mon!). Before Katie Lanphier and Anna had to get new prosthetic legs, they competed in the unusual 500 meter race and placed first and fourth overall, respectively! Hannah (crazy endurance athlete) Lamos placed third in the 5,000 meters, while Carolyn Case represented in the mile with 5.16.33! All I have to say about all you distance girls is that you ladies are the sprinter’s role models. Someday we hope to run more than two cool down laps around the track without becoming hopelessly exhausted.

This Friday, Cedarville is hosting the Collegiate Indoor Meet! So, parents, kids, girlfriends & boyfriends, peers, loved ones, and even enemies, come out and watch the Women’s and Men’s Cedarville Track & Field team dominate!....mooooostly women’s though. (My radical feminist side came out for a second- sorry!)
 

January 24, 2012

To my fellow blog readers:

So the “Run fast for everyone” lyrics to the Dog Days Are Over song (by Florence and the Machine, not Adele - tricked you all!), seemed to motivate many of the Cedarville tracksters in Marion, Indiana this past Saturday.

On our long bus ride, Coach Marsh advised the people who were competing in the first few events to try and stay awake, but I know for sure that when I woke up, the entire bus was fast asleep…including the person I was sharing a seat with...(cough, Alexa Winik). Despite the cold, icy weather that our bus trekked through, we arrived safely, to Indiana Wesleyan University.

I guess the nap helped Alexa, because she won her individual event, the 200 meters, and ran alongside Katie Lanphier, Christina Gall, and I, as our first leg of the 4 x 400 meters that took the gold as well. I think I can say this for all quarter-milers, but one thing that still boggles our minds is how we can hate the open 400 meters, but have so much fun in the 4 x 400 meters. Perhaps it’s the fact that we get to run with a purple baton, or maybe it’s the team connection thing. Track and field is a very individual sport, but for some odd reason it helps knowing that you have three others relying on you to run your heart out. Coach thinks we have a chance at taking the 4 x 400 meter relay record this year, and if Coach believes in us, then I know we can dooooo it!

Also, the female freshers made quite an impressive performance to start off their collegiate careers. Christina came through with the silver in both the 60 meter hurdles and open 400 meters, Tabitha DeHart won the 600 meters, and Valarie Kirk won the 60 meter hurdles. These were just first and second place finishers, but there were plenty of other excellent performances by our other newbies - I ‘m so proud of them!

I just want to give a shout out to our upperclassmen, Beth (Bethers) Jones had the only win in the field events with the triple jump and Hannah Lamos had an outstanding win in the 3,000 meters! They say she crossed the finish line almost 35 seconds before anyone else did! To us sprinters, we could’ve run a flight of 200’s during that time gap. Also, we can stretch that shout out to Carolyn Case and Abby Wong who also got the silver in their 800 meter and 3K events!

We have a lot of talent on the team this year, and I don’t know what everyone else is thinking, but I’m pretty excited to see what our women’s team can do this year…maybe an NCCAA championship title is on the horizon? I think we can bring it back ladies!! Come to think of it, this could be our last chance because the world might end this year… (gasp!)

I have to admit…Track is probably not the most exciting sport in the world. I hope I didn’t shock too many people by saying that, but with this sport I think it’s the people that make it a great one to be a part of. I have been on the track team for a few years now (o em gee, I feel so old saying that), but I can sincerely say that I will treasure the memories forever. From water balloon fights during May term to performing Parkour moves off the high jump mats, I have to say I can just feel it in my bones that with this schweet group of girls, we can make some crazy memories this season. Possibly by starting off with a Sadie Hawkins dance…in my khaki pants…


January 20, 2012

I have to say...I’m kind of nervous to write the blog this year. One of the greatest writers and English majors I know, did the track blog for the past two years, and it’s going to be hard to fit in Alexa Winik’s spikes…I mean, shoes. So I apologize beforehand if my blogs aren’t as witty, extraordinary, and fun to read as hers were. But here’s to the start of 2012!...I guess if the world ends this year, our blogs won’t be of much importance anyway.

Before writing about the goals and aspirations we’ve set for the New Year, I’d like to take the time to tell you a little about myself. I hope to become a nutritionist and personal trainer, but specifically for the older population. I’m currently working with the Senior Jackets, and they are some of the coolest, funniest, and most interesting people I know! Other than that I will be keeping myself busy working in the fitness center, training for track, learning about tapeworm diets, and having a great junior year.

Alexa and I have been M.I.A the past semester due to our study abroad excursions in England and Wales. We both had a unique fall training, but are glad to be back to see all the new tracksters and of course our old ones too! Besides asking the entire freshman lot their names multiple times a week, I know that we have a lot of talent just waiting to be unleashed this season….which actually starts tomorrow!

We will be traveling to Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) at 8 a.m. on Saturday in our track-equipment-filled buses, as we try to hold in our excitement, nervousness, and… yawns. Our coaches are excited to see how everyone performs, and have given us the Parable of the Talents to ponder over. “To whom much is given much is expected.” You all have talents, use your time at Cedarville to develop them - wise words from Coach Bolender. Let’s start out indoor season with a snap, crackle, & pop!

Song of the season? YouTube Adele’s song, Dog Days Are Over…I know this inspirational tune will be playing through Alexa’s ipod at every track meet. If you are a track athlete, you’ll understand why this is such a great song. It kind of goes like this…

The dog days are over; the dog days are done,

The horses are coming, so you better run.  

Run fast for your mother

Run fast for your father

Run for your children, for

Your sisters and brothers.


Joy Santos is a junior sprinter from Queens, N.Y. She is in her third season with the Lady Jackets and is majoring in exercise & sport science.