Cedarville University Yellow Jackets

May 4, 2017

This past weekend your Lady Yellow Jackets track team succeeded in capturing our fifth-straight G-MAC title (2 indoor and 3 outdoor). This week instead of doing the usual good performances and PR’s (even though we had many) I'm just going to let you know how special this team is.

These girls are some of the hardest workers I've ever met. They're not satisfied with where they are and are always striving to get better, push themselves further, and reach their full potential. Even though we knew we had a good chance to pull out a win last weekend, that wasn't going to stop us from racing, throwing, and jumping our best. After our indoor win of only two points (which was a little too close for comfort) we wanted to show what we were made of at the outdoor championships. Even the girls who knew they may not finish in scoring position ran their hearts out. Many of the girls sacrificed personal comfort for the good of the team and competed in three or four events over the two days. We pulled out the win after a crazy weather weekend and I am so proud. From the freshmen all the way up to the seniors who have been working hard for four years, I want to thank all of you for a memorable season. I love you all and I wish our graduating seniors all the best in their post graduate endeavors.


April 26, 2017

For the third week in a row, the team was split between two different meets. The first meet was the Jesse Owens Classic. Nicole Perez continued her trend of running great races. She PR’ed in the steeple Friday night and was one second away from a provisional mark! Olivia Esbenshade ran the 800 meters and finished third with a 2:10.

The other meet that most of the team went to was at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. Now this meet was what is known as a "twilight meet" which basically means they keep you up late and the meet doesn’t finish until like 11:00 p.m., which is not ideal. Despite the less-than- ideal circumstances, there were some good performances. Many of the girls placed high or won their events and there were several PR’s. Most notably Makayla Cook PR’ed in the 200 meters and Paige Logan had a huge PR in the 5K taking 10 seconds off her previous time.

This weekend we have our G-MAC Outdoor Championships. Both the men and women are looking to take the title. If you’re a student, it’s a good way to forget the impending stress of finals week, so come support us. If you’re not a student, come any way. Either way, it’ll be a great time!


April 19, 2017

We went two different directions this past week again. Five girls left Wednesday for meets in Los Angeles and because they went to California, that’s all the press they get (but seriously check out their performances, they’re awesome).

The rest of us were stuck in Ohio and traveled to the All-Ohio Championships on Friday and Saturday at the University of Cincinnati. The first day there were only a few girls that competed, just the nature of the meet and how it is run. Amanda Edwards won the DII pole vault with a PR. She jumped 10-4. Nicole Perez was our other winner in the steeplechase. Nicole ran an 11:10, a PR, and was 4th overall.

Special shout out to Jaylyn LaFlamme for competing in her first heptathlon at this meet. For those of you who are not fluent in track speak, a heptathlon is seven events that take place over two days. Points are awarded based on your mark or your time for each event and whoever has the most points at the end of the two days, wins. Simple enough…unless you’re the one doing it. Jaylyn did the 100 meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, and the 200 meters on Friday and finished on Saturday with the long jump, javelin, and the 800 meters. I know she wasn’t happy with all her times or marks, but heptathlons are not easy (not that I’ve ever done one) and she gutted it out and competed to the best of her ability.

Saturday, there were more events, more people, and more sun. Lyndsey Smith and Samantha Reece both ran the 100 meters and finished 4th and 5th in DII. Lyndsey, Hanah Johnson, and Makayla Cook finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in DII. Carly Rose won the 800 meters and Sarah Hoffman won the 1500 meters with Kacy Dunn in second with a strong showing. Both of these girls were in the fast heat and beat several runners from DI schools. Paige Logan was 3rd in the 5K on a very hot day that is not conducive to running long distances, although I find that no weather is conducive to running long distances. Our 4 x 400 girls killed it after they all ran events before hand. They finished first in DII (they were the only DII team, but hey first is first, right?) and also beat Cleveland State’s A team so that’s cool.

Overall we ended up tied with Findlay for the title of All-Ohio Champions (I’ll take the blame for that, they killed me in the throwing events). All in all it was a fun weekend that resulted in some PR’s and a whole lot of sunburn. This week, we’ll be going different directions again. For those who have qualified, they will be heading to the Jessie Owens Classic at Ohio State in Columbus on Friday and Saturday. For those who have not qualified, we will be headed to the Otterbein University Invitational in Westerville, Ohio.


April 11, 2017

We went to two different meets this past weekend. About half of us traveled to Marian University in Indianapolis on Friday to compete. The throwing areas (yes there were two) were several miles from the track (which happens more than I'd like), so I saw a grand total of two running events. We did have some success even with the cold and wind. Courtney Kohler has now won all three meets she's thrown jav in. Carsyn Koch won the 400 meters, Olivia Esbenshade won the 1,500 meters with Kayla Casaletto coming in second. Not bad for the first time ever running it. Alaina Spears ran the 1,500 meters for the first time as well, so we can count that as a PR too! The ladies 4 x 400 meter relay team won the race easily. The members of that team were Lyndsey Smith, Carsyn, Olivia, and Sarah Hoffman. It was nice that the race I did see, our team dominated.

On Saturday the other half of our team traveled to Muskingum University. Apparently it was quite a day! They had great weather and great PR’s and ended up second as a team. Erin Ashley was the highlight of the day with THREE, count 'em, three PR’s! She PR’ed in the 1,500, the 800, and as one of the legs in the 4 x 400. Those are three tough races. Krista Green was an individual winner in the steeplechase. Miranda Holbrook PR’ed in the pole vault after several years! Abigail Snyder was another individual winner in the 5K AND set the meet record!

This coming week is All-Ohio and Mt. SAC. Most of the team will be at the University of Cincinnati competing against teams from all over the state and a small portion of our team will travel to Los Angeles to compete against some of the top runners in the country. We'd appreciate prayers for travel, especially for those traveling to California.


April 5, 2017

This past weekend we traveled to Hanover College in southern Indiana to take part in the Hanover Invite. Aside from a few bumps in the road (literally) the trip went fairly smooth and we arrived safely. We had another great meet, finishing first as a team and having several individual winners and many PR’s.

Our women's 4 x100 relay team (Lyndsey Smith, Michaela Nelson, Molly Bolender, and Samantha Reece) placed third. This is pretty impressive considering it's probably the second time in my three years on the team we have run a 4 x 100. Nicole Perez and Kayla Casaletto placed first and second in the 3000 meter steeple chase on a day that was probably not ideal conditions and Nicole ended up with a seven-second PR. Anna Thayer had a huge PR in the 1,500 meters.

Gabby Johnson and Grace Norman both ran terrific 5K times. Gabby had a 20 second PR and Grace had a PR along with the title of 5K Champ. Christy Jesson had a very impressive day. She did three events - the 1,500 meters, the 800 meters, and ran the anchor leg in the 4 x 400 relay. Christy beat her PR’s from middle school in both the 1,500 meters and the 800 meters and ran a very impressive final leg of the 4 x 400 to secure the victory. The other members of the 4 x 400 were Olivia Esbenshade, Carsyn Koch, and Sarah Hoffman.

In the throwing events we had two great performances. Jaylyn LaFlamme PR’ed by a meter in the hammer and Courtney Kohler remains undefeated as she took first in the javelin for the second weekend in a row.

This coming weekend, the team is splitting up. About half of us are headed to Marian University in Indianapolis on Friday to compete and the other half are headed to Muskingum University to compete on Saturday. Prayers would be appreciated as we travel and compete.


March 29, 2017

This past week was our first outdoor meet of the season and it was at home. Most track athletes prefer outdoor season to indoor season and that can show in the first meet of the year with big performances. On the track we had several great races. Our distance girls outdid themselves with some huge PR’s. Nicole Perez and Erin Ashley had PR’s in the 5K with Erin bettering herself by more than a minute. Sarah Hoffman had a PR in the 800 meters finishing 2nd with a time of 2:18.

Alaina Spears had a great 10K race with a PR finishing first. Christy Jesson and Kayla Casaletto finished second and third in the 10K just behind Alaina. I would personally like to congratulate anyone that runs a 10K and finishes because that is something I could never do. For all of you metrically challenged people out there, a 10K, or 10,000 meter race is just over 6 miles and is 25 laps around a 400 meter track. Just thinking abut it makes me tired, so I’ll move on to something more my speed (pun intended).

We had some great performances in the field events on Saturday as well. Lyndsey Smith jumped a foot further than her personal best to win the long jump. She leaped to first place landing at just over 18 feet (18 feet 1 inch to be precise). Jaylynn LaFlamme had a great day in the hammer throwing a huge PR of just over 130 feet that landed her just outside of scoring position. Courtney Kohler, in her first college track meet, wasted no time in showing what she is made of. Courtney won the women’s javelin with a throw of 126 feet 8 inches.

This coming weekend we travel to Hanover, Indiana to compete in the Hanover Invitational.


February 28, 2017

The meet this past Saturday was probably one of the most exciting ones I have ever been a part of. It was our G-MAC Championship and we knew we could win it, but it would be close. We basically had to score in every event we were in, which we did. We had some stellar performances and wound up winning with 170 points. The second place team, Ursuline, scored 168 points. The meet came down to the 4 x 400 meter relay. Our girls ran their hearts out and pulled out the victory. The team of Lyndsey Smith, Michaela Nelson, Carly Rose, and Olivia Esbenshade edged out Ursuline to claim victory. I'm not going to lie, we had no idea what the score was going into the final race. Most of us, my self included, didn't even think we won. It was a crazy and exciting day with so many good performances that helped us secure victory and to list them all here would take far too long, but I'll mention a few.

Lyndsey Smith was third in the long jump, Kristen Mohre was third and Amanda Edwards was 2nd in the pole vault. Christy Jesson won the 5K and Alaina Spears was second. Kayla Casaletto won the 3K and Olivia Esbenshade was a double champion in the 800 meters and the mile, along with winning G-MAC Track Athlete of the Meet.

All in all it was a great day to be a Lady Jacket. I'm so proud of the girls on the team. We fought for every point we earned and it paid off.

Outdoor season starts in a month (yes a month) and we'd love to see some of you at our first meet. It's home so there's no excuse! Come support your reigning G-MAC Champions!


February 20, 2017

Last Friday we traveled north to the University of Findlay to compete in a relatively small but competitive meet. At meets like these, some events are much more competitive than others. The throwing events were super competitive this meet, but only a few of the running events posed the same stiff competition that was seen in the rings.

Many of the distance runners did not travel with us as they rest up for the G-MAC Indoor Championship this weekend. Samantha Reece and Lyndsey Smith ran the 60 meters. Lyndsey finished third with a 7.88 and Samantha bested her own time by .05 dropping her PR to a 8.03. Carsyn Koch and Olivia Esbenshade came across the line first and second in the mile and both qualified for nationals. Miranda Holbrook shattered her season best in the pole vault by more than a foot and jumped better than she had in a long time. Hanah Johnson PR’ed in the 200 meters after running a great 400 meters. Carly Rose was second in the 800 meters, Michaela Nelson was third in the 400 meters with a solid 1:00.86, and Lyndsey finished first in the 200 meters, well ahead of the competition.

This weekend we go for our fourth-straight G-MAC Championship (1 indoor and 2 outdoor titles) and we are bound to see some outstanding performances from the girls on the team. If you want to come out and support us, come out to Doden Field House at 10 a.m. on Saturday to cheer both the men’s and the women’s teams to victory!


February 13, 2017

What a crazy few days we had in Michigan. Part of the team left last Thursday afternoon to compete in an invitation only meet Friday at Grand Valley State in Allendale, Michigan.

Alaina Spears, Kayla Casaletto, and Christy Jesson ran the 5K against a tough field. They all broke 18 minutes, Christy running 17:36, Alaina 17:40, and Kayla running a 17:52. That’s more than 3 miles in less than 18 minutes!

Another great performance came from the Olivia’s. Olivia Esbenshade and Olivia Kundo both ran the 3K. Olivia Esbenshade shattered the school record with a 9:50.28 (previously 9:59.39) and Olivia Kundo came in at a solid 10:11.93, which placed her 6th in the fastest times in school history. And that was only the first day.

The rest of the team made the five-hour trip to Michigan on Friday afternoon, spent the night at a church and competed the next day.

In my two and a half years on the team, I honestly don’t remember a meet where we had so many great performances, PRs, and school records being broken (both on the men’s and the women’s side). I could write pages on everyone’s awesome performances, but I wont. I’ll keep it short.

Samantha Reece had a PR-tying day in the 60 meters, Lyndsey Smith finished 5th in the 200 meters with a PR of 25.57, Carly Rose had a PR in the 800 meters (2:16), Kacy Dunn and Grace Norman had awesome races in the mile, and Abigail Snyder finished with an 11:17 PR in the 3K, but one of the most exciting races all day was the DMR (Distance Medley Relay). Olivia Esbenshade, Olivia Kundo, Lyndsey Smith, and Carsyn Koch shattered not only the school record, but also the field house record and automatically qualified for nationals beating the 2nd-place team (Grand Valley State) by nearly three seconds. This past weekend the team really showed what we were made of and that is something I love to see.

On this trip, the team was blessed by the hospitality of Oakfield Baptist Church in Rockford, Michigan and their head pastor (and former Cedarville track & field thrower) Chris Minor. They allowed us to use and sleep in their facility, fed us (which is a task in itself), and showed us the love and generosity of Christ. Thank you to all who served us this past weekend. We are so grateful for you and your willingness to provide for us. God Bless you!


February 7, 2017

Track is one of those sports where you can have a huge breakthrough after months or even years of hard work. This past weekend at the Ohio Northern Invite we saw a few of those performances.

Senior pole vaulter Tiera Martinelli PR’ed, finally breaking the 11-foot mark and topping out at 11’1" and freshman vaulter Taylor Nunan also jumped a PR clearing 10’1".

My teammates are some of the hardest workers I’ve ever met. They fight and strive for everything they earn and they deserve it all.

Samantha Reece was one of those that had a huge breakthrough this weekend. For those of you who don’t know, Samantha was injured for the majority of her first two seasons on the team, but this year she is finally healthy and competing. She dropped more than a tenth of a second off her 60 meters time, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but trust me, it is. Another big performance we saw was from Makayla Cook. She ran the 400 meters and dropped FIVE seconds off her PR, which again may not seem like a lot, but its HUGE considering she’s less than year out from an ACL injury. These ladies show that no matter how many times you get knocked down, it’s always possible to get back up and keep working hard. They have trusted the process and it is so good to see them recovered from their injuries and able to PR. Quite the comeback kids, if I do say so myself.

This weekend, we go to Grand Valley State in Allendale, Michigan. We would appreciate your prayers as we travel and compete and that we are able to impact those we interact with for God’s glory.


January 30, 2017

Competing at home is fun. Competing at home in a scored meet and winning is even more fun. Track is definitely an individual sport, but team wins are just as rewarding as individual wins.

This past Friday, we won the Cedarville Collegiate Invitational by 42 points, scoring almost 170 points. We had so many girls contribute to the win, which is awesome and shows the depth of our team. Often, people believe that the first place wins are the most crucial (which they are), but in reality it’s the 3rd, 4th, 5th places that really add up to bring home the win.

We won six events and tallied points in almost every event. We also set two national marks. Carsyn Koch recorded a 56.58 in the 400 meters, third fastest time in the country, and the DMR (distance medley relay) team recorded the 7th best time in the country with a 12:39:17. That relay consisted of Carsyn, Olivia Esbenshade, Kayla Casaletto, and Olivia Kundo. Both of those times were also meet records.

The team looked strong last week as we defended our home turf (track), but I think something everyone on the team would agree with is that we showed what Cedarville is all about. We compete, we cheer, we win, and we do it all in the name of Christ and for His glory.

Our next home meet isn’t until February 25th, but it is the G-MAC Indoor Championship where both the men and women will be looking to defend our titles - women looking to go back to back and men going for three in a row. We would love to see you all there!


January 25, 2017

It’s here! It’s finally here! Indoor track season is now in full swing and we have been preparing for months. As many of you know, or you may not know, we have been going full speed ahead (no pun intended) since September. We had what I like to call a "tune-up" meet on December 5th at Tiffin but less than half of the team participated in that meet to varying degrees of success.

This past weekend we participated in a meet at Youngstown State and saw several exciting performances. This was the first college track meet for a lot of people on the team and some people’s first indoor meet ever. This meet is tough because of the number of quality track teams that participate and the several NCAA Division I teams there.

The day started off strong with the women’s 5K. Juniors Alaina Spears and Christy Jesson finished a second apart, both setting PR’s and finishing 3rd and 4th. The best part of track is seeing the pure joy on someone’s face when they PR. There were a few more girls who PR’ed along with Alaina and Christy. Emma Smith jumped 4’11" in the high jump. This was the first time Emma had ever high jumped in competition and she had set the goal to jump 4’9" and exceeded that by 2 inches. Hanah Johnson PR’ed in her first college 400 with a 1:01 and Carly Rose tied her indoor PR in the mile. Carsyn Koch and Olivia Kundo both ran the mile and won their heats, beating several DI runners in the process. Kayla Casaletto ran the 3K and finished 5th. We had two 4 x 400 teams run with one finishing 6th and the other having a strong showing.

Not everyone has a stellar week every week and that can be disappointing (speaking from experience), but I think one thing that makes this team different than others is that we encourage each other to forget about bad past performances and look forward to the future and the meets ahead. We are also reminded that track is not the end all and that we have a greater purpose in this world than running in ovals or throwing heavy things. We have hope in Christ and that helps us stay humble in the spotlight and lifts our spirit when things don’t go as well as we would like.

This week, we have our first home meet. If you are free, come out to the Doden Field House starting at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, January 27th. Come watch your friends or come watch complete strangers run, jump, and throw. It’ll be a blast, I promise.


Mariah Cruise is a junior thrower from Wooster, Ohio. She is in her third season with the Lady Jackets and is a Dean's List student majoring in criminal justice.