November 17, 2021
It doesn’t get much better than this. After a season of ups and downs, which included navigating multiple sickness outbreaks, injuries to many of our top runners, and unexpected changes in meet competition, we delivered on the day that it really mattered: Regionals. And no matter what happened the rest of the season, what we did on that day is what got us to the National meet with the chance to compete with the other 33 best teams in the country.
The morning of regionals was slightly chilly, but nothing us tried and true XC runners hadn’t experienced before. By race time, it was an ultra-comfortable 55 degrees and partly sunny. The course was dry and hard-packed, and we all knew it would be a fast day, and that it would take our absolute best to finish in the Top 7 in the region which was our goal. The race went out blazing, as many of us came through mile 1 in the 4:50 range. However, with five miles to go, we knew that it was time to settle in and lock into a consistent pace. Isaiah started out with the top group and held on tight. Evan began to move up just after 2-3 miles. Ramen and I held steady in the 70-80th place range and began to move up after 5K. We knew that to have a chance at Top 7 in the meet, we had to place five guys in or very close to the Top 50. Around mile five is when I realized we could do it. We moved up into the 50-55 range, and I saw Isaiah ahead and estimated he was in the 15-20 range and that Evan was in the 30-40 range. If Ramen and I could move up just 10 more spots, we’d put ourselves in great position as long as Trevor played his part. However, I had not seen him the entire race, so I was a bit worried. At 9K, Ramen and I remained in position, and caught every last man that we had the energy to pass. WE crossed the finish and I immediately turned around looking for our last man. Yet before I could even turn around, there was Trevor, right beside me. We had done it! We had put four men in the Top 50 and Trevor at 53rd, so we knew we had given the effort it took to qualify. When we found out we were 6th, we were simply overjoyed. Not only were we 6th, but we beat 7th place by 1 POINT. All the effort, all season, every last guy we passed during the last straight, it all made the difference. We had done it. We had achieved our goal. It was just a waiting game then to see if we nabbed an at-large bid to Nationals.
When we officially heard we had made it in, we were ecstatic. Out of the toughest region to qualify in the country, we had made it to nationals. This is a special group, and I’m so incredibly thankful to them, and to God for continuously providing for us so we could get to this point. However, the job is not done yet. We still have one more race to run, this Saturday, in Saint Leo, Florida.
Tune in at 9:45 AM to see how we match up with the best NCAA D2 teams in the country. I can’t wait.
November 5, 2021
It’s time. The moment we’ve all been waiting for has come. NCAA II Midwest Regionals. As we ride on the bus now headed toward the course in Evansville, Indiana, there is a tangible sense of excitement among the team. We know that we have the group assembled that can push through to the National meet. At the G-MAC Championships on our home course, we ran the second fastest Cedarville team time EVER on our home course. There’s some incredible talent and quality on the team this year. It’s a special group, and we have the chance to cement our names in Cedarville history if we can qualify for Nationals this year.
The most special thing about this team, I’ve found, is the resiliency through trials. We went through a bout with COVID-19 earlier in the season that knocked out over half the team at one point. Each member of the Top 7 has dealt with some sort of nagging sickness or injury throughout the season. Even this very week, our entire Top 7 came down with a cold. However nobody freaked out, nobody questioned what we were capable of. Everybody kept their focus. And most of all, everybody knew that a faithful God would remain faithful through trials and His will would be done through us this season regardless of the trials we face.
Regardless of the outcome this weekend, we know that we’ve showed this season what we can do and have put our program back on the map with the class of the region. We’ve had a mix of top runners, showing that we have a deep team with quality up front as well. Now it’s time to showcase that and put it all together. It’s all come down to 1 race. Time to execute. Isaiah, Russell, Ramen, Evan, Collin: let’s go.
It’s hard to believe that this could be my last cross country meet ever at Cedarville. Here’s to hoping that it isn’t.
October 21, 2021
Just a few hours before the race at Charlotte on October 8th, the rain started coming, and it didn’t stop. The clouds got darker, and, while sitting in a Starbucks working on homework, we all came to a realization that we may not race at all. The forecast showed thunderstorms throughout the afternoon, and with no alternative to racing Friday night, had we seen lightning before the meet, it could have been canceled altogether. Regardless, everybody stayed ready to race and kept their minds in focus. It paid off.
The rain intensified once again 10 minutes before the race. Yet, there was no thunder to be heard or lightning in sight, so the race went on. The start was extremely crowded, and it was a sprint to get to the first turn. After that, the pace settled down and the field began to spread. We were in 10th place at the 2.3K marker, 7th place at the 5K marker, and finished in 5th overall among 33 teams. The times were eye-popping to say the least: Isaiah came through at 23:59 (also good for the fastest 8K time in school history I believe!), Evan finished in 24:07, Ramen in 24:37, Trevor in 24:40, myself in 24:45, Collin in 25:01, and Ethan in 25:20 to round out the Top 7. You read that right. Five men broke 25, which I don’t believe has happened in CUXC history. Regardless of the course or the conditions, this was an all-around stellar performance from our men and showed that we are ready to compete with the best that our region has to offer. It showed that we are ready to make a run at nationals, which has been our goal since the end of last season.
We also saw an encouraging performance by the team at Wilmington on October 15th. Ethan Wallis placed 4th individually running 25:50 and the team placed 10th overall of 33 teams despite most of our Top 7 not running.
While the races themselves were encouraging, it came as a direct result of the stellar work that the team has put in throughout the season. It has been awesome to see the development of many different guys and how everybody has stepped up into a meaningful role on the team. With the G-MAC Championship coming up this Saturday, we’re going to need every ounce of effort to pull off a win. All of our healthy guys are running, and we are at near full strength, so it’s going to be a treat to watch. The competition from across the conference is stellar.
October 23, 9:30 AM, on the Elvin R. King XC course, right here in Cedarville. Be there.
September 29, 2021
Well that was fun! This past weekend, the team Top 9 took a trip down to Nashville, Tennessee, for the NCAA D2 Showcase meet at Trevecca University. We all packed into a van on Friday morning and headed down south. It was a fun little trip, which involved many traffic jams and eating Subway while sitting on some random train tracks. Once we finally got down to the course for the pre-race day run, we realized that we were in for a treat. The course was muddy and hilly, which is nothing new to many of our team members. It involved both grass and trails, which always makes for an interesting race.
We knew that the meet wouldn’t be quite what we expected due to several teams dropping out of the race, so we had to race ourselves in order to reach our goals for this meet. I’d say we did that successfully, finishing 1-2-3-4-6 for a score of 16, which is one off of a perfect score. We had several guys run season-best times and show legitimate progression, which was very encouraging, especially with the Charlotte meet coming up in two weeks, which will be absolutely stacked. Nobody took this race for granted despite it being very small. The win was followed up by some elite Nashville Barbecue. We all cleared our plates in less than five minutes in typical post-race fashion, then took a walk around vibrant downtown Nashville (and heard enough country music for a lifetime).
While the Top 9 were in Nashville, the other guys were back in Cedarville putting in work and preparing for their next competition, which for some is Charlotte on October 8, and for some is Wilmington on October 15. We are approaching the heart of the season where every competition is crucial. The guys have been killing the workouts lately, so I know we’re ready for this stretch approaching. Be on the lookout for a lot of PR’s coming up.
September 22, 2021
What a meet! On a smoldering afternoon where the temperature was 87 degrees at race time, we finished fifth in the state of Ohio. We saw a very different Top 5 arrangement this meet than the last meet. Isaiah Kelly had the race of his life, finishing in a blistering 25:27 and placing 10th overall. He was followed by Ramen Felumlee in 26th, Colin Cramer in 36th, myself in 39th, and Ethan Wallis in 66th. Each of the Top 5 were also dealing with various ailments so it was great to see that even when not fully healthy, we still can pack a punch. It was a top-to-bottom impressive performance in far from ideal conditions.
We also saw some impressive performances from many guys outside of the Top 5. It was the first 8K of their lives for all freshmen, so technically, they all set PR’s. One thing I was also encouraged by was the attitude of the team after the race, even guys who wanted a better performance. Everybody took it in stride, and kept the focus on the future meets this season. There’s a long ways to go yet this season.
One of the coolest things about this meet, however, was the support from the Cedarville community. That may be the most people I have seen at a home meet of ours, and it was LOUD! We hope to build off of that energy and performance as we head to Nashville this week to run at the Trevecca NCAA D II Showcase meet on Saturday morning. It should be a great trip with the guys, with hopefully some barbecue included (on the way back, of course, things could go poorly if we eat that the night before the meet). We run at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time), so if you happen to be up that early, tune into the Live Results!
(Editor's Note: Here is a
link to Scott Huck's Photo Gallery of the Men's 8K All-Ohio Championship.)
September 15, 2021
Home field advantage. That’s what we have this Friday as we take on over 30 other teams across all divisions at the All-Ohio Championships. Home field advantage is not something usually talked about with cross country, but if you have ever seen our course, you may understand. Though appearing flat, there are a variety of hills and hairpin turns which make our course unique. It is deceptively difficult, and we hope that our many workouts there will give us a leg up on the competition on Friday.
As this is my final year of cross country, this will be my seventh time running in a meet on our home course. I’m every bit as excited (and nervous for that matter) as I was the first time I ran here. For over half of the men on the team, it is their first time racing at home. The anticipation has been increasing the last two weeks of training since our first meet at Wright State. This is also our first 8K of the season, which is a new distance for all newcomers. But we believe our workouts have left us very well prepared for this weekend. We have done some shorter and some longer repeat workouts on the course. These workouts have given us a good combination of speed and endurance to be able to handle everything from the fast start to the grueling last kilometer.
Though the last two weeks have produced some great workouts for us, there have been some bumps along the road. From sickness to injury to cardiovascular issues, many members of our team have faced their fair share of adversity. The guys have remained surprisingly optimistic, however, and have not let these ailments get them down. It has been an amazing encouragement to me as I have been dealing with a small injury as well. Ultimately our joy is not based on our performance, but how God is glorified through our sport, and we can all contribute to that whether it is on the course or cheering and encouraging from the sidelines. We have a great group and I know that no matter who toes the line on Friday, they are going to give it their best.
2:00 p.m. on Friday at the course. Be there. It’s going to be electric.
September 8, 2021
Well, how’s that for a start?
We had our first meet at Wright State University this past weekend and it was about as good of an opener as we could have hoped for. We put our Top 7 runners all under 16 minutes for the 5K and saw too many PR’s to count. We placed second out of 7 competing teams, only losing out closely to the University of Dayton (we face them again at All-Ohio in two weeks, hint hint). It was a great test to start out the season against some tough competition including some NCAA DI schools.
Chief among the “surprises” this weekend was that we had a first-time team #1 finisher (also his first time in the Top 5, I believe), Ramen Felumlee. It wasn’t much of a surprise to us who had seen his training numbers over the summer (80 mile weeks galore) but regardless it was awesome to see him throw down in the last mile. I had a front row seat as he put five seconds on me during the last kilometer alone. It was incredible to watch. Let’s not forget to mention the other guys other than myself that rounded out the Top 7, all running cross country 5K PR’s: Isaiah Kelly, Trevor Cross, Cooper Peterson, freshman(!!!) Ethan Wallis, and Colin Cramer.
We enjoyed the meet success for a couple hours, then got right back to running 13+ miles on Saturday morning. We are reaching our peak training period of the season, so we are really hitting the miles and workouts hard these next few weeks.
However, besides all the great moments in training and competition throughout the week, my favorite memory was our first team Bible study, hosted in our very own locker room. Something is special about a team of young guys on fire for the Lord, freely singing and glorifying Him together. It was awesome to see the engagement with the Word as well, as we read through a couple passages in the gospels. We know that is not a luxury many people have to worship God openly without risk of consequence, especially in these current times. These Bible studies are one of the things I’ll miss most when my time at Cedarville comes to a close.
For now though, we still have a lot of season ahead of us, and an encouraging start to jump off. As I said to Ramen as he caught up next to me during the race: Let’s roll!
September 2, 2021
Oh, how sweet it is to be back! We are practically moments away from our first cross country competition of the fall, a 5K this Friday at Wright State University. There is a palpable excitement among the entire team after a long summer of hot and humid weather, long miles, and battling through injuries and illnesses. Many of us have had this meet on our minds since our last outdoor track race nearly four months ago. We have some big aspirations for this season as a team, and now it’s time to deliver on those. It gets real on Friday.
My name is Caleb Pendleton, and I’m a fifth-year senior from Buxton, Maine, here at Cedarville finishing out my Mechanical Engineering degree. I never thought I’d have this opportunity to compete for one last year at Cedarville, but many things came together, and here I am. I couldn’t be grateful for one more opportunity to glorify God through the sport I love doing, and to compete for one more year with some of the best teammates I’ve known.
Since the previous XC season, our team has nearly doubled in size, from 14 to 25. We had a huge freshman class of 11, along with one transfer, and we returned 13 of 14 runners from last year. Therefore, we have a great balance of veterans and newcomers which is very encouraging. I’ve been extremely impressed so far with what I’ve seen from our freshmen, and we are also seeing great improvement from many of the returners. The potential of this team is through the roof, and I can’t wait to see what we can do.
When we arrived on campus over three weeks ago for our camp week in John Bryan State Park, this upcoming meet seemed so far away. Now, we can taste it. I can’t wait to update you all next week on how it goes.
Caleb Pendleton is a fifth-year senior from Buxton, Maine. He is a five-year member of the Yellow Jackets and a mechanical engineering major.
