May 18, 2016
This past weekend we were in Rome, Georgia for the NCCAA Championships. We departed for GA Thursday morning at 5 a.m. After making a few stops on the way down, we arrived in the afternoon. We shook our legs out on the track for some pre-meet routines later that evening.
Friday was the first day of the meet. We had many great performances on Friday! The warm weather didn't stop anyone from running well. The 4 x 800 had a huge win late Friday night. The squad of Wyatt Hartman, Tim De Jong, Ethan Gatchell, and Dan Michalski shattered the school record. A few PR's that stand out are from the guys in the 10K; Jared Vega and Ethan Sullivan. Big congrats to them!
Saturday was the second go-round of events. There were many PR's set on Saturday. One in particular that stood out to me is from Wyatt Hartman in the 1500. Wyatt has been training real hard and has been doing the little things that often go unnoticed to make himself better. Congrats to Wyatt on a great weekend of racing and great way to cap off his junior year of track.
Our team finished 7th out of 29 teams. This summer our athletes are dispersing throughout the country again. Some will be going off to internships, home, or even missions trip throughout the country or world. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers wherever we are this summer.
Yours Truly,
KG
May 2, 2016
This past weekend we competed in the G-MAC Championship here at Cedarville. We had a lot of great performances even with a chilly, rainy day. I want to touch on a few people in particular that have had many great performances.
Tim De Jong had a solid indoor track season but suffered an achilles injury that set him back a bit. Tim is too competitive to let that mess with his mind and he's back and faster than ever. Tim busted out a blazing 1:54.13 in the 800 meters and a 49 second 4 x 400 meter split. Tim has been putting in a ton of work during training and it's pretty apparent.
Jonathan Scouten also had a great meet. Jonathan won three events; hammer throw, shot put, and discus. Jonathan was also named Field Athlete of the Year. Well done!
Lastly, I want to talk about Josiah Bernard. Joe won three events as well; high jump, 400 meters, and 4 x 400 meter relay. Joe also competed in two more events; second in the triple jump and third in the 400 meter hurdles. Josiah competed in all five of these events on Saturday. Joe is a tank and deserves so much credit.
Both men's and women's teams took first place this weekend.
Oh and if you haven't heard yet...Carsyn Koch ran a 2:02.39 in the 800 meters in California this weekend and has run an Olympic Trials qualifying time. She's a beast!
It's finals week and I'm writing this blog when I should be studying...priorities.
This coming weekend we have a meet in Toledo, Ohio! Wish us luck this week with finals and our meet.
Yours Truly,
KG
April 27, 2016
Last Friday we had our first meet in a while! We raced at Wilmington College under the lights. When we arrived at Wilmington College, the meet was under a delay due to thunderstorms and lightning in the area. After about 1 1/2 hours of lounging around in the college gymnasium, the delay was lifted and the meet got underway.
The temperature was perfect for racing although there were rain showers here and there. We had a lot of good marks and PR's this weekend despite the meet going late into the evening. Our team took first place overall and had many event winners.
This coming weekend we have our conference championship meet that we're hosting. G-MAC's is a two day meet this year and will be held on Friday and Saturday. We look forward to some good competition, some fast times, and a victory at the end of the meet.
Yours Truly,
KG
April 20, 2016
This past weekend we had a few athletes compete at Mt. SAC relays in California! Daniel Michalski had a great race ranking him Top 5 in NCAA DII in the 3K steeplechase. Carsyn Koch had a tremendous performance winning her heat in the 800 which ranks her at the top in the 800 in DII!
We haven't had a meet since our super windy day in Kentucky two weeks ago. After a couple of weeks off, we are all chomping at the bit to compete again. Our next meet is this Friday at Wilmington College just down the road. The weather is getting a lot warmer and we can't wait to put up some good marks as we approach the latter end of our outdoor season.
Stay tuned for an update next week on our meet this weekend!
April 5, 2016
This past weekend we competed in Danville, KY at Centre College! We departed quite early Saturday morning and traveled by bus for three and a half hours to the meet. There were two groups that left, an early group and an earlier group! The first group left Cedarville around 4:40 a.m. and the second group left around 6 a.m.
Once we got to the meet we set up a team camp in the bleachers and had breakfast provided by Chuck's, our dining hall at Cedarville. The weather on Saturday was not ideal by any means, however we were able to keep our spirits up and stay focused for the competition. There were gusts of wind up to 35 mph throughout the day which made it hard for anyone to battle through that headwind on the home stretch of any race.
One of our athlete's father comes to almost every meet no matter what and video tapes our races and posts them to YouTube. Mr. De Jong has sacrificed a lot of his time to watch his son Tim and our team compete for the last three years. If you haven't checked out his YouTube page, here is a link:
Daniel De Jong YouTube Channel
This coming week we have the All-Ohio Meet in Athens, OH at Ohio University. We will have some great competition this weekend and have potential to hit some great marks. This week we want to focus on our training and giving God the glory for all that we do and give thanks to Him for everything that He has provided us with.
Yours Truly,
KG
March 29, 2016
This past weekend we kicked off our outdoor season at home with a win! We had a lot of great performances across the board. One of the stand out performances that I would like to touch on was from Wade Kyser, a freshman sprinter. Wade was injured his senior year of high school and came into fall training still recovering from his injury. Through hard work in his rehab and patience, Wade is looking like he is back to form and is great to see. Wade was a part of a solid 4 x 100 meter relay team that took second place. Wade also had a great race in the 200 meter dash and finished his successful day with a strong third leg in the 4 x 400 meter relay. To see athletes recover from injuries and find success still is a blessing.
Many of us on the team stayed on campus over Easter break and got to spend quality time with each other. We had a team game night the night before our meet. It was nice to have a break and exhale from classes getting tough again. Now on to the last stretch of the year without a break before finals.
It is great to be back on the outdoor track again after a long indoor season of tight turns on the 200 meter track. Our team has been getting some really tough workouts in recently and getting a lot stronger. It was great to start the season off on a high note to get the spirits up and excited to see what the rest of this outdoor season has in store. Stay tuned for more updates as the season progresses.
Yours Truly,
KG
March 1, 2016
Our men's track & field team placed first this past weekend at our G-MAC Championship. We scored 241 points while Alderson Broaddus scored 95 taking second place.
This was our last meet of the indoor track season. There were many victories this weekend by our men including Jonathan Scouten whom was crowned G-MAC Field Athlete of the Year winning shot put and weight throw.
As I recap the season, I would like to point out that we have all grown closer to each other as teammates and brothers in Christ. Through cheering each other on at track meets, pushing each other to do our best, and Bible studies about practical situations in our daily life we have gained so much this season. Luckily, we have another season ahead of us in the spring and we can't wait to see what God has in store.
Yours Truly,
KG
Feb. 23, 2016
Last weekend we competed at NCCAA's which is the National Christian College meet at Indiana Wesleyan University.
We departed Cedarville Friday around 11 a.m. and arrived at the meet in time for the events on Friday. There were many great performances on Friday! Calvin Pitney won the pole vault earning the title of National Champion! The 4 x 200 meter relay squad of Matt Bird, Kyle Gerhart, Wade Kyser, and Andre Klaassen broke a school record! After the meet we drove to our hotel and settled in for the night. A few guys that competed Friday night that were done for the weekend went down to the pool in the hotel to have some fun and relax.
Saturday morning we had a continental breakfast at the hotel and departed for the meet around 9:30 a.m. There were many great performances exhibited Saturday including Daniel Michalski's victory in the mile crowning him a National Champion. Across the board our men's team had a successful day finishing in fourth place overall.
One thing that I noticed that was really cool about this meet was how the athletes from all the schools gave God the glory. We aren't used to seeing all relay groups or individuals in prayer before and after races. The intimidation level comes down significantly and is humbling that you aren't competing for yourself. We ought to always remember whom we are competing for because He gave us these abilities.
This upcoming weekend we have our G-MAC Championship at home. We hope to reign as Conference Champs. We are now on the home stretch of our indoor season. It's been a very successful season thus far and we want to go out with a bang. Stay tuned for an update after G-MAC's.
Yours Truly,
KG
Feb. 16, 2016
This past weekend we had a meet at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. A group of athletes went up early to compete Friday in the 5K and a few other elite races. The rest of the team traveled up Friday to compete on Saturday. We stayed at Oakfield Baptist Church in Rockford, MI. As the majority of the team arrived Friday night around 8:30 p.m. we were served dinner provided by the church. After dinner we all went to bed to get some rest on mattresses that the church provided for us as well. We are so thankful for everyone that served us at Oakfield Baptist. Everyone was super friendly and hospitable.
On Saturday, some of the field event athletes and sprinters that ran the 60 meter dash left at 6:30 a.m. to get warmed up and ready to compete. The remaining athletes loaded the charter bus and departed for GVSU around 9:30 a.m. There were five school records broken throughout the weekend by both the men's and women's teams. For the men's side, Daniel Michalski in the mile, Andre Klaassen broke his own 200 record for the second time this season, lastly, the DMR of Wyatt Hartman, Samuel Harper, Forrest Thayer, and Daniel Michalski.
Being a student-athlete, it is often hard to balance long weekends away from school and wifi to complete assignments. On bus rides, many of us are doing homework or studying for upcoming exams and quizzes. When we aren't running or cheering on our teammates, it isn't unusual to see a handful of us laying down studying or working on the next assignment.
After a successful weekend full of school records and PR's we look forward to a week of training as the championship season is on the horizon. This coming weekend we are headed to Indiana Wesleyan for the NCCAA meet. This is the National Championship meet for those that haven't qualified for the NCAA DII meet.
We want to have fun this coming week with training and at the meet on Friday and Saturday. As Coach Bo says often, "Fun is doing something that is hard, well."
Yours Truly,
KG
Feb. 9, 2016
We had a great home meet this past weekend! Our men's team came in first place overall. There were a lot of great performances exhibited on Friday. Thank you to everyone that came out to support us in our events this weekend. It's always great as an athlete when your friends and other Cedarville athletes can come out to watch you perform.
Here is a list of the Top 5 finishers:
Josiah Bernard placed 4th in the high jump
Samuel Tvardzik placed 5th in the high jump
Lane Hluch placed 3rd in the weight throw
Calvin Pitney placed 1st in the pole vault
Samuel Tvardzik placed 3rd in the long jump
Jonathan Scouten placed 3rd in the shot put
Josiah Bernard placed 3rd in the 400 meter dash
Wyatt Harman placed 1st in the 800 meters
Daniel Michalski placed 2nd in the 800 meters
Tim De Jong placed 4th in the 800 meters
Ethan Gatchell placed 5th in the 800 meters
Andre Klaassen placed 5th in the 200 meter dash
Jared Vega placed 1st in the 5K
Matt Taves placed 3rd in the 5K
The 4 x 400 relay of
Matt Bird,
Kyle Gerhart,
Tim De Jong, and
Joe Bernard placed 1st
The 4 x 400 relay of
Tucker Rhodes,
Josh Boxer,
Caleb Blanchett, and
Isaac La Croix placed 3rd
The DMR of
Wyatt Hartman,
Matthew Pelletier,
Jimmy Barton, and
Ethan Gatchell placed 1st
Forest Thayer placed 2nd in the 3K
One of my favorite things about running here at Cedarville is how close knit our team is. When people aren't racing, they're always cheering for teammates that are. It's always encouraging when you hear your team cheering for you when you're racing.
We want to take this good weekend of racing and get a few days of training in before we head up to Grand Valley State University in Michigan this coming weekend. Stay tuned.
Yours Truly,
KG
Feb. 2, 2016
Last weekend a few men from the team went to a qualifying meet at the Spire Midwest Open in Geneva, Ohio.
A huge congratulations to Andre Klaassen for breaking his own 200 meters school record in a time of 22.34. This converts to a 22.74 on a 200 meter track. Andre placed 9th overall in the event!
Wyatt Hartman and Daniel Michalski were back at it in the 1 Mile...
Wyatt placed 3rd in 4:18 and Dan placed 5th in 4:19.
After a hard week of training this past week we are ready to host our first home meet of the season on Friday. Many of us have been working hard at getting faster and stronger and look forward to putting our training on display once again.
Home meets are a good opportunity for outreach to visiting teams. Christian music is usually playing and the atmosphere of our home turf is always comforting. We look forward to this week of fine tuning and competing Friday. Let us not forget who we run for. All for the glory of God!
Yours truly,
KG
Jan. 26, 2016
This past weekend we kicked off the season with a great showing at Youngstown State University. There were many great performances across the board from both men's and women's teams. We departed Cedarville early Friday morning to travel roughly four hours to YSU.
There were a lot of standout performances this weekend. Here is a list of the Top 10 finishers this weekend:
Andre Klaassen placed 7th overall in the 200
Daniel Michalski placed 1st overall in the Mile
Wyatt Hartman placed 3rd overall in the Mile
The 4 x 400 relay team of Matthew Bird, Kyle Gerhart, Tim DeJong, and Joe Bernard placed 4th overall
Coach Bo always says, "What can we be getting better at today?" We look forward to a hard week of training this week and focusing on improving from this past weekend.
As the great Vince Lombardi said, "The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender."
Yours truly,
KG
Jan. 21, 2016
We kick off the 2016 Indoor Track & Field season Friday at Youngstown State University. We have all been waiting for this day to come. Now, it's time to display all of our hard work.
First off, let me introduce myself. I am Kyle Gerhart a junior marketing major from Newark, Delaware. Or some like to call it DelaWHERE? I run middle distance/sprints and have a passion for sports and competition.
I'd like to give a shout out to Ben Tuttle for placing 16th place at NCAA DII Nationals and earning himself an All-American title. A lot of hard work was put in this fall by the Men's XC Team and by those in the fall track program. We have many goals for this upcoming season. For some it is to qualify for Division II nationals, to qualify for NCCAA nationals, or to score points in a meet. The greatest goal that we all have in common is to glorify God in all that we do. We want to be a shining light wherever we go so that others can see God's unconditional love through us.
I look forward to what this season has in store for us all. Stay tuned for more updates throughout the season!
Kyle Gerhart is a junior middle distance runner from Newark, Del. He is in his third season with the Yellow Jackets and is majoring in marketing.
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