May 3, 2017
G-MAC Outdoor Championships
This past weekend our men’s and women’s track teams hosted the G-MAC Outdoor Championships. The women fought hard to maintain their title from indoor, scoring points in almost every event and sweeping the 800 meters. The men also showed determination, as, after facing a close defeat to Malone in the indoor championships, they adjusted and battled to overcome their new rivals by a less than comfortable margin.
At the track, the sun beat down on the athletes, shrouding the competition in a warm, muggy atmosphere following intense and persistent thunderstorms the night before. The sogginess evidenced itself by the sloshing sounds coming from athletes’ cleats as they warmed up for their events. Despite the thunderstorms raging only hours prior, it was a great day to be a sprinter, although a rather brutal one to run the 5K. Nonetheless, potentially unfavorable weather did not prevent our distance team from giving their all on the track. Several athletes worked overtime, running three or four events to amass dozens of points for the team, and they deserve a special shout-out, since their determination and resilience played a major role in making our victories possible.
As the season closes, some athletes have yet to perform on far bigger stages, and others are wrapping up, likely glad for a time of rest. Some raced their final lap on a track this weekend; it likely was a bittersweet day for those athletes, with the completion of this phase of life. It serves for them as a good time to reflect on career progress and goals, as well as the number of life lessons and bounty of spiritual growth we receive form the coaches and community here. For those not returning, this opportunity should be cherished, as if it were a final such opportunity - for some it indeed will be.
April 5, 2017
Hanover Invitational /
Guest Blog by Kevin Gideon
Welcome to my second guest blog!
If my name sounds familiar it is because I also was the guest blogger for our cross country team. I am a freshman distance runner studying Exercise Science.
I love the whole track meet experience; getting up early, getting on a bus, watching others run and cheering them on, waiting for my race, and finally racing. I love competition and it is really cool going to a meet and seeing a group of people get together just to celebrate and participate in a competition.
Anyways, we got off to an early start; the bus left campus at 6:45 a.m. for the Hanover Invitational in Indiana. When you travel in a gigantic 45-foot charter bus, things take longer. Turning around in that big thing can be a real pain as well.
We made it the track and set up camp. The athletic facility was a building that extended out the back of the grandstands, so that gave us a nice warm place to go while we were waiting to warm up. It was about 45 degrees and cloudy but with no wind. So, it wasn’t cold enough to impede racing at all but it wasn’t that pleasant to wait around outside. If you haven’t already, check out the articles on our Cedarville Jackets website on the meet. Those review the top performances from the meet for the women and the men. Because those have already been covered over there, in this blog post I am going to cover some of the results that weren’t in that article.
Tucker Rhodes is a senior on the track team this year, he has struggled with a lot of injuries throughout his career. Running was not going well for him but he still wanted a way to help the team. So, he decided to start trying some field events. At Hanover, Tucker took on the javelin for the first time. For his first time ever, Tucker threw the Javelin 41.06 meters!! (134 feet-7 inches) This throw was good enough to get Tucker seventh overall! I think we found Tucker’s event. That was really cool to see how Tucker didn’t care what event he was doing, if he was helping the team, he didn’t care.
Another
Kevin Gideon
thing that didn’t get mentioned in the main article was the amazing 5K our men ran. We put eight runners below 16 minutes in one race! Our guys were led by Matt Pelletier in 15:31, close behind was Ethan Sullivan and Jared Vega. Zac Bowen, Alec Weinhold, Ford McElroy, Avery Traffie, and Alex Shrock were all below 16 minutes as well. It was a great race - a runner from Indiana Wesleyan led the race from start to finish in a time of 14:50! So, it was a fast race and helped pull our runners along. Jared Vega drove the BUS HOME! He had a huge PR that day! Ford led the freshman with a big PR, it’s always exciting to see young guys running fast. Good job to all the guys in the 5K it was a great day.
Overall it was a great meet; it was Cedarville’s first time at the meet and it was a definite success. Thankful for a lot of good races from this past weekend and the opportunity to share Christ through our running!
REMEMBER IT’S ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD
March 29, 2017
This past weekend we competed in our first outdoor meet of the season in front of a home crowd. For a March day, when nearly any weather is fair game, we were blessed with nice weather that improved throughout the day. Competition was fierce, as 15 men’s teams and 17 women’s teams participated, making the meet much larger than normal; nonetheless, the men won and the women finished second only to Wright State.
We had many good performances, ranging from dominating to thrilling, as the meet unfolded. The performances were exciting to watch and to cheer, and encouragement from teammates helped our competitors fight through the painful finishing stretch. Our team victory shows just how important the team members are - even the ones not running on the track. Another shout out to the great overall team performances in such a large field of contestants!
February 28, 2017
This past weekend we hosted the G-MAC Championship meet. Unlike the past few seasons, this meet remained suspenseful down to the wire, with the women claiming a two-point victory over the runner-up, Ursuline, and the men scoring a close second to Malone. This result breathes new life into Coach Bolender’s phrase "Every point counts." The statement couldn’t be more true and relevant to this competition.
Our athletes performed well in general, with a number of competitors scoring multiple victories or high-scoring places. A victory that really stood out was the women’s 4 x 400 meter relay comeback win; without it they would have lost the championship. However, points scored earlier in the meet proved to be equally important, considering 10 of their points came from that race and approximately 160 elsewhere for feats such as a moderately competitive weight thrower placing fifth (worth 4 points).
The atmosphere of the Doden Field House was phenomenal, especially during the last few events of such a close competition. From the first high jumps to the split-second finishes in the 4 x 400, the meet kept its intensity and proved to be a great thrill both to watch and to participate.
Now we anticipate training for the outdoor season, remembering how valuable each individual event and competitor can become, and we as the men’s team hope to claim the new and improved T-shirts for a well-deserved win in the outdoor G-MAC Championship.
February 20, 2017
This past weekend we traveled to the University of Findlay for an unusually small and brief meet. Many of our team did not run this past weekend in order to recover for the G-MAC Championships this week. However, this does not mean that good competition was absent. We had a number of remarkable performances despite the downsize from the previous weekend.
Some of us inspected the records posted at the facility (the times were impressive on the men’s side, especially the 3:08 in the 4 x 400) before the meet. The meet moved rapidly, so people had to constantly observe its progress. Late in the meet, we dined on pizza and pasta - everything tastes better after a race (especially after two).
Many of us are looking toward this coming weekend, when we will compete at the conference championship. It will certainly be exciting to host the championship meet and to compete fresh and well-conditioned. With weather warm enough for outdoor workouts and a championship meet upcoming, it’s sure to be a fun week for the team.
February 13, 2017
This past weekend we traveled to the Grand Valley State Big Meet in Allendale, Michigan, a two-day meet requiring long bus rides and overnight lodging. Overall, it was a trip of spirited competition and lasting memories. The bus was cramped, and the team energetic, making it difficult to sleep either way on the six-hour trek down dark, rainy highways.
A church nearby to the facility graciously hosted us overnight (their pastor is a Cedarville alumnus), where we enjoyed a night of fellowship, basketball, volleyball, and card games. We also ate a hearty dinner and breakfast during our stay. The food was good, and we are grateful for such hospitality, but fried chicken and bacon before a track meet - not exactly the best idea.
The track felt like an ocean of blue carpet, 300 meters around and encompassing a football field. The competition was fierce, as times even as fast as 2:03 in the men’s 800 meters or 4:40 in the men’s mile (borderline point-scoring times at our home meet) were menial marks in the slowest heat. Needless to say, our spirited team internalized the intensity of the competition and set many personal records. In addition, both of our men’s and women’s Distance Medley Relay (DMR) teams set NCAA DII qualifying times, and a number of individual athletes did likewise.
After the meet ended, thankfully almost an hour ahead of schedule, out coaches treated us to a pizza dinner (once again, great food to help us run fast…) and snacks and McDonald’s and Wendy’s to last through the ride back. Like the trip up to Michigan, it was difficult to sleep through the ride, but, fortunately, we arrived not long after midnight, allowing for a decent night back on campus.
February 7, 2017
This past weekend we took a short trip to a long meet at Ohio Northern University. Departure was early Saturday morning, as sleepy yet excited athletes ate a fast breakfast and loaded the bus, which left a few minutes late. After a ride that felt almost too short, we arrived at the facility, where some of us took the opportunity to jog around the surprisingly nice track before the meet started.
The meet ran progressively farther behind schedule as the day transpired, which made it difficult to anticipate the start times for later races, and it also led to a late night, with the meet ending around 8 p.m. (followed by a post-meet dinner and a two-hour trip back to campus). Nonetheless, we maintained composure and competed well. Amidst a field suitable for all Cedarville athletes, both fast and slow, our men’s team finished fifth in a field of 15 teams, and the women finished second, only a few points short of the winner. We also won both the men’s and the women’s 4 x 400 relays, making for a thrilling finish to a long day.
The bus ride back home proved that we still aren’t too old for group singing on the bus, and it showed how ignorant the Cedarville community is about Cincinnati culture dining, as the group voted for Taco Bell over Skyline Chili…Fortunately, we had Wendy’s as another option. Upon arrival back in Cedarville, we rushed to empty the bus in a race against the clock, as the Shell station was closing at midnight (while we arrived shortly before), and coach wanted to refill the bus with gas. So there was no prolonged meeting or pep talk to be had, but it seems we competed well in general, as we are improving our conditioning and learning from past experience. This leaves much hope for the latter half of the season.
January 30, 2017
This past weekend we hosted our home indoor meet. It was a long day for us as the evening meet was preceded by a full day of classes, but, nonetheless, we excelled in the competition Friday night and won the meet decisively.
We had many athletes score in a variety of events as well as a number of PR’s and improvements from last week. Also, special shout out to the event winners; the men won ten events and the women six. Even though the competition may not be quite as fierce as in some of our other meets, winning an event remains an accomplishment worth celebrating.
The atmosphere at the meet was electrifying, especially to our athletes. It was the first home meet of the season, and we had a solid home crowd plus our coaches and teammates behind us the whole way. This is certainly a testament to the fact that we are not just a group of athletic rats running around a track a thousand and one times, but we are a team with a common objective, and this team forms a great community; I know I personally would have quit very early in my college track career without that sense.
In light of the performances this weekend, it is still early in the season, and performances are not yet at their peak. Even following a successful team performance there is danger of complacency. We enjoy the temporary pleasure and fleeting moment of glory for a while, but a successful race at this point is simply farther leverage and preparation for the rest of the season, and the glory ultimately belongs to God, who designed each one of us with the talent we showcased.
January 25, 2017
Excitement is buzzing throughout the track team as the competitive season gets underway. Many long, hard hours have been spent on the roads, at the track, and in the weight room in preparation for these next few months, and we are all hoping to perform well and encouraging one another to persevere and, more importantly, to devote efforts to God’s glory.
This past weekend, we traveled across Ohio to compete at Youngstown State. Many of our days began early on Friday, the day of the meet, as some of the team members departed at 8:00 a.m. for the early events. Meanwhile, others ate a quick bite and attended an 8:00 a.m. class before leaving for Youngstown State at 9:10 a.m.
It was a smooth ride to the university, with a rest stop some 30 minutes north of Columbus. Upon arrival, we proceeded into a large room with a football field in the center. Surrounding the field was a 300 meter track. The experience on this oddly-sized track was rare, so confusion arose at times regarding where the start lines were or what split times should be.
Despite the lack of familiarity, many athletes maintained composure and competed well. Performances that particularly stood out were Alec Weinhold and Ethan Sullivan, with fast times in the 5,000 meters, as well as Carsyn Koch of the women’s team, who shattered the competition in the mile, setting a time close to the facility record.
For as many athletes that viewed their performance in a positive light, however, there were also many who were disappointed. Coach encouraged us with a reminder that the season is still young, and the competitions we do now, although they may seem worthless at the time, are preparing us to compete hard through another four months. Even bad races aren’t a total loss; we were challenged to leave the disappointment behind, to learn from the experience, correcting the mistakes we made, and to always strive for improvement.
Benjamin Reese is a senior middle distance runner from West Chester, Ohio. He is in his third year with the Yellow Jackets and is majoring in mathematics and physics.
