October 30, 2020
“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.” This quote by Alphonse Karr feels extremely relevant in describing our season. This whole year has felt like a giant thorn. Through all the trials and difficulties, from outdoor track season getting canceled, uncertainty all summer, and a team bout with COVID in the middle of this season, we ended up being one of only five NCAA Division II conferences that was able to have a XC championship this year. Simply put, we did not perform like we wanted to at conference. The goal was to win, and we ended up in third. But rather than go on about our tough performance, I would like to talk about some of the amazing things that this team did this year, collectively and as individuals.
We saw three individuals crack the Top 5 on the team that had never done that before. This included sophomore Cooper Peterson, senior Jacob Logan, and sophomore Braedon Killion. We also had two new members sneak into the Top 7, senior Micah McKanna and (our only) true freshman Will Hanak. Remarkably, all 14 team members competed at G-MAC last weekend, a feat we had not achieved for several years. It was a joy to see Colin Cramer, Abram Enns, and Ramen Felumlee get back to competing after long battles with injury. Seeing guys like that finally get their moment gives me so much joy as a captain and a friend having watched them fight through their injuries with various forms of rehab. We had PR’s across the board, over half of our team ran an 8K personal best at some point this season. I would also be remiss if I did not mention the success of our new team No. 1 guy this year, Isaiah Kelly. He consistently put forth admirable performances and was the anchor of our team this year.
If you compile our team record this year against all teams we competed against, we were 24-2 which I think is pretty darn good for a team that lost 12 seniors last year and dealt with a team-wide quarantine mid-season. We were truly blessed with the opportunity to compete this season. We all want to thank the training staff, the athletic department, and Dr. White all advocating and working for us to allow us to do what we love this fall.
Micah McKanna
We are losing one team member next year, Micah McKanna, who will be sorely missed. His influence on the team went far beyond the score sheet and every guy could advocate for that fact. He has been an incredible leader and has improved on the course significantly throughout his career here. He has been a model for hard work and consistency. I felt not mentioning him in this last XC blog would do a disservice to all he has done for the team.
I think my true highlight of the season was after the race at conference. Our usual tradition is to get a large prayer circle at the end of each race and welcome anybody to join. That did not happen at the first two meets this season, as guys scattered very quickly, most likely due to COVID fears. However, last weekend was different. Many runners hung around afterward to congratulate teammates and friends, with this being the last race of the season. I figured for this meet we should at least try to get a prayer circle going. As we started organizing (while socially distanced between teams) the circle continued to grow, and grow, and grow some more. By the time I started to pray there was probably over 70 guys in the circle, all with eyes closed and heads bowed, thanking the One who made all of this possible. It was the largest prayer circle I have seen in my XC career.
Though the loss at conference still stings, we know that we absolutely have the potential to come back stronger than ever next year. I am incredibly excited to see how our guys progress through track season and next summer. The road to 2021 XC Nationals starts now, and I am ready to get rolling.
October 22, 2020
What a wild ride this season has been. After our entire team was quarantined four weeks ago, it looked as if the season may be in jeopardy, given that we have to test every couple of weeks and just one positive can send us all back into quarantine. However, by the grace of God, each team member has tested negative in each of the last two rounds of testing since we were released from quarantine.
Quarantine came as a surprise to all of us, but I admired how everybody handled it. Simply put, nobody lost focus. There were a lot of inconveniences, but I barely heard any complaining among the guys. I think it just spoke to the resiliency and toughness of our team, and as a current senior and team captain it made me extremely proud.
We missed two scheduled meets while we were quarantined but Coach Orchard was able to get us into a meet at Rio Grande the Friday after we got out. It was a hilly course, a warm and humid day, and a small field of runners, and generally not quite the conditions we are used to. Regardless of all that, we were still able to bring home the win for the second meet in a row. We placed four in the Top 10 once again and saw more PR’s, which is extremely impressive considering the circumstances.
Overall, I am extremely thankful for the group of guys we have this year and proud of the effort to get this far in the season. However, the season is not over yet, with the G-MAC Championships coming up this Saturday at Tiffin University. I think that we have as good of a chance as anybody to bring home the title this year. The team has looked incredible in training the last two weeks. Watch out for our young guns at the meet this weekend. We have many guys primed for breakout races, and what better place to have that than at conference? Saturday morning at 10:15 a.m. (Click
here to watch LIVE VIDEO), we begin the conclusion of the weirdest season any of us have ever seen. We might as well bring home the trophy while we are at it, and regardless of the outcome, give glory to God through it all.
September 23, 2020
We went into our meet at Taylor University last Friday cautiously optimistic about our chances at winning. We knew we had a capable group but were unsure if we could put it all together in one race and overcome some tough competition. The guys rose to the task.
The weather Friday was cool and windy. It was what we like to call “racing weather”, a very cross country-like evening. It felt surreal that we were finally able to compete again after such a long break.
We were incredibly excited for the opportunity in front of us, and thankful for those who made it possible. The scene was really unlike anything I have seen at a meet before. There were no spectators, none of the usual buzz that happens before meets. Guys stayed together in their team camps and really didn’t venture off much aside from their warm-ups. We as a team were very focused on the task at hand, even at that point I knew it was going to be a good race day.
Finally, we had the adrenaline rush that came with toeing the line once again! Once the gun went off, the race flew by. I knew we were in a good position to win but was still surprised by the results. We won the meet by 28 points, our largest opening meet victory in years. Isaiah Kelly had the best race of his career at Cedarville, finishing second in 25:26. We also saw huge PR’s from Cooper Peterson, Jake Logan, and Braedon Killion, all also a part of our team Top 7.
The meet was followed by a huge dinner at Ivanhoe’s, an extremely popular place to eat near Taylor. Coach Orchard even got to see some of his former teammates there, as he ran for Taylor University way back in time. For that day at least, everything felt back to normal. It was an amazing time and we are extremely thankful for it.
Our only home meet of this abbreviated fall season is this Saturday, Sept. 26. The men’s 8K race begins at 11 a.m. and the women’s 5K race follows at 12 noon.
Check back next week for more details!
September 16, 2020
Hi everybody, it is so good to be back! My name is Caleb Pendleton, and welcome to the 2020 Cedarville Men’s Cross Country blog!
After an abrupt end to the outdoor track season and five months apart, in the midst of a global pandemic, here we are two days from our first competition of the fall. In times like this it is easy to think of all the negatives. Many of our lives completely changed this summer, and it feels like things may not ever be the same. Despite all the uncertainty, our guys kept their foot on the gas all summer and continued to train hard as if we were having a season. Because of a stellar job by the leaders of CU and the G-MAC, and most importantly by the grace of God, we now have that opportunity.
Now let’s get up to speed with the team this year. We graduated a stellar class of roughly 12 seniors last year, so the team went from near 30 men last year to 14 this year. We picked up one true freshman this year and two new sophomore team members. Despite all the roster turnover, the team picked up right where we left off last year, as evidenced by two fantastic overall team time trials the last two Fridays, one a 5K and one a two-mile. Nearly all our guys are in the best shape of their lives (in my opinion), largely due to putting serious work in over the summer. I really cannot say enough about the work ethic of the team this year. We have an extremely motivated group of guys, some who had to train solo nearly all summer yet never lost focus.
Unfortunately we have a couple guys dealing with injury at the moment, yet they continue to do all they can to get back to running again, and in the meantime they are incredibly supportive, which is another thing that makes this team special. The team atmosphere this year is incredible, the comradery has been fantastic. It’s never fun to roll out of bed before 7 a.m. on a Saturday for a 15 mile run, but the boys continue to do that week after week. We have not only pushed each other physically this year, but also academically and spiritually. Team Bible studies have been a highlight of the year so far, it has been great to see guys focused every bit as much on helping each other grow closer to God as they are on helping each other get faster.
Our first meet is this Friday at Taylor University in Indiana, with the gun going off at 5:45 p.m. There is some great competition at the meet so it will be a good test for us. I expect to see some serious PR’s from us this week. I’m so excited to see what we can do and how we can glorify God through it all. I’m also pumped to be writing the team blog this year and look forward to keeping you all up to date on our team. This is my first time writing any sort of blog so bear with me as we go. It's about time we laced up our spikes again!
Caleb Pendleton is a senior from Buxton, Maine. He is in his fourth year with the Yellow Jackets and is a mechanical engineering major at Cedarville University.
