December 8, 2022
Hey everybody! Thank you all for following along this year in our pursuit to reach our potential and glorify God through the gift of running He’s blessed us with. I’ve had so much fun recapping each meet and bringing y’all along for the ride. I wanted to set up this final blog a bit differently, so here’s a little look at our season by the numbers:
[1] We nabbed 1st place at four of our eight meets!
[2] Years in a row winning G-MAC and going to Nationals as a team!
[3] The number of fifth years on the team. Remi, Bethany, and Alayna have all been instrumental in not only the success of this team on paper, but also in the success of the team’s goal to pursue God above all else. I have been so encouraged by the way they put their all into whatever they do,
including selflessly loving others. The same goes for my fellow class of graduating seniors, whom I have cherished every moment with over these past four years.
I asked the fifth years to contribute some closing thoughts on the Nationals weekend, the season as a whole, and their cross country careers. They put it much more eloquently than I could have - here’s what they had to say:
Alayna: “My team knows how to make the most out of every opportunity, and being in Seattle on an NCAA festival year was no exception. We had a list of rules and goals going into the trip, mostly in jest, but the last rule summed up our main goal well: no regrets. From making Christian friends on the plane to sharing the gospel, placing 7th in the nation to jumping in the ocean, I can proudly say that I had no regrets not only for the trip, but for the race in which we all ran our hardest if not our best. (Although I confess that the run from the ocean to the bathroom to change may have been run faster). Albeit without regret, I did carry my muddy spikes off the course with more than a few sentiments. A sport I had loved since 7th grade never to be run again, yet closing in its rightful God-given time. This thought gave me both heartache and satisfaction, but I am so thankful I still have track season with my awesome team!”
Bethany: “Cedarville cross country has been an incredible experience. Through the highs and lows that a sport like running inevitably brings, I have been so blessed with great teammates and coaches that have positively impacted me more than they will ever know. I am grateful for the leadership of Coach Bolender and how he continually encourages us to pursue the Lord and grow in faith as our first priority. I’m definitely going to miss laughing with my teammates until we can’t breathe, team prayer nights and dinners, spontaneous camping trips, and maybe even Vo2 max 1k repeats on the XC course. The Lord has been so good over these last five years and there’s no place I’d rather end my Cedarville cross country career than at Nationals in Washington with my teammates (who are really more like sisters at this point).”
[4] Consecutive number of years that being on the Cedarville cross country team has helped me grow closer to my goals in running and grow closer to the Lord.
[5] Pieces of gum we stuck on the gum wall in Pike Place Market in Seattle to spell out “CUXC.”
[6] Numbers of hours spent partying in the bus on the way to our meet in Kenosha, Wisconsin with the whole team. This included Alayna’s narration of her original Ninjago book as well as a lengthy dance party in the bus aisle. These moments we’ve shared as an entire team are always so special and not something I will soon forget.
[7] Our highest place ever at Nationals! What a way to end this era that I’ve come to love so much. I have nothing more to say but that I’m beyond blessed and thankful to have been on the 7th best team in the nation. On paper, there’s only six teams that are better than us, and that in itself is pretty good - but just between you and me, there’s truly no one better.
November 29, 2022
Hello from the West Coast!
This year Thanksgiving races were off the table with our biggest race of the season ahead of us, but break last week still proved to be a great time. There is so much we all have to be thankful for. We got to hang out with family and friends, relax a bit, and catch up on homework for the busy upcoming week. Even the things that aren’t particularly fun can actually be blessings.
We made it back to campus on Sunday evening to rest up for the next day’s short workout and comparably longer flight. Coach Bo brought his puppies along to the track, which hands down makes any workout better! A few short hours later we loaded up the van to head to the airport. We had a group of teammates come out to pray for us and send us off with good luck wishes and some care packages they had made!
I could reminisce and say it seems like just yesterday that I left for my last cross country meet ever - because, well, it actually was yesterday - but in reality it seems like so much longer ago. That’s probably just the jet lag, but I’m trying to draw out and linger in every moment as it comes.
As we were reminded tonight at the opening ceremony of the NCAA Division II Championships Festival, we only have so many opportunities to compete in the sport that we love. It’s a blessing, and we’re absolutely going to make the most of it. Every four years, Division II holds a “festival year.” All the fall sports have their championships in the same city, and they create sort of an Olympic village vibe for the athletes. We stay in the same hotel (which is super nice!), and they hold opening and closing ceremonies for us along with various other activities throughout the week. Tonight, which I suppose at this point is actually Wednesday morning in Ohio, was the opening ceremony. We piled into charter buses and headed to the Museum of Pop Culture. There was plenty of food and plenty of time to explore the exhibits before they welcomed us to Seattle with a few speeches and awards. In my opinion the best part of it all was the fact that they kept the buffet tables stocked with food all night long; that was pretty clutch.
All that to say: we made it to Seattle! And we’re pumped for what the week holds. Friday’s race will be here before we know it, so until then we’re striking a balance of sleep and fun things. We run at 2:15 p.m. (EST), and there’s a link on our homepage to watch the live stream if y’all want to follow along.
See you guys next week for one last time, and as always, but especially this week - Go Yellow Jackets! Let’s make some history.
November 22, 2022
Hey Yellow Jacket fans - welcome to the recap of a historic weekend!
On Thursday morning we headed north for our Regional meet in Kenosha, Wisconsin. We loaded up the bus, shielded from the cold with the parkas that the soccer team so kindly let us borrow. :)
The guys who were racing had left earlier that day, but the rest of them came out to wish us goodbye and good luck. They even sang us a spontaneous Christmas carol! We were excited and ready to go.
We got to Wisconsin with plenty of time to catch up on a bit of homework, explore the hotel, and play games on the hotel lobby computer. The next day we weren’t too booked besides our afternoon run on the course, so we petitioned Coach Bo to take us to
Bass Pro Shops. It’s become something of a tradition now for Alayna and I to find these wherever we race. As always, the giant waterfall and bunches of fish did not disappoint.
After lunch, we went shopping for fun toys and other little items to make up Operation Christmas Child boxes. This is something we’ve done the past couple years, and it’s so cool to think about and pray for the children that will receive them!
That afternoon we bundled up and hit the course for our pre-meet run. It had been so warm when we raced there in October that it was crazy to see it all covered in snow! The trails were a little slick, but the footing wasn’t too shabby overall, and the woods were gorgeous.
As the nerves set in a bit that evening, Coach reminded us in our meeting that we were fast and ready for this opportunity. We had proved ourselves all season and were fully prepared to go out there the next day and run for God’s glory.
Saturday morning brought with it 20-degree temperatures and upwards of 20-mph winds. It also brought with it dozens of teammates that had come out to watch, despite the cold! Needless to say, the parkas definitely helped again. Everyone was bundled up till the last minute, and at 11:30 a.m. the gun sounded the start of the race. The Cedarville ladies were off to earn their spot to Nationals. The other alternates and I, along with the rest of the cheering squad, tried to hit the hardest sections of the course to rally them on. I planted myself at the 4K mark of the 6K race and waited for the girls to round the turn in the woods. Only a few had passed before I saw Savannah come tearing down the path, and the rest of our ladies weren’t far behind. They held steady and strong through the last part of the race and took 2nd place overall!
They truly showed grit in some tough conditions and propelled us to our highest ever finish at Regionals! Savannah placed 7th individually, which is another Regional record for the Jackets, and joining her for All-Region honors were Naomi, Alayna, Bethany, and Hannah. Remi and Audry also had great races and rounded out our runners for the day. We got to enjoy the awards ceremony with everyone who had come and give our happy basket to Grand Valley State, the talented team ahead of us. After the girls finished up their cool downs, we grabbed some delicious
Portillo’s for lunch and started the trek back to campus.
What an incredible weekend, and what an incredible way we’ve come! Every day I’m blown away by the heart of this team and by the way we’re able to race hard and support each other through both good times and tough times. God has blessed us with so much success this season, and we’re grateful.
We’re looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving at home with family, and then we’ll come back and head to Washington for Nationals!
Thanks for tuning in and for supporting us this season. See ya next week!
November 15, 2022
Welcome to the post season!
This past week wasn’t too eventful as we mainly focused on gearing up for Regionals. On the schedule for the week was a steady state run on Tuesday and a new 400's workout on Thursday. We ran the reps at mile pace - which is obviously a lot faster than 6K pace! - but had full recovery between each one. This will help a faster race pace feel a bit more comfortable and let us tap into that next gear for our last few races.
Over the weekend, the warm weather finally gave way to the cold, and we even got some snow on Saturday! There are definitely mixed emotions held by various team members regarding the snow, but to me it felt like Christmas morning when I woke up and saw the winter wonderland outside.
There are also mixed emotions about playing Christmas music in November, as many of us did during our Saturday long runs; I witnessed a near fight break out about it at dinner one night! Needless to say, though, however disjointed we may be when it comes to Christmas traditions, we’re coming together as a team to reach our goals at Regionals this weekend.
The race is on Saturday morning at 12:30 PM (EST), with the boys racing their first 10K of the season an hour before. Throughout the whole season, we’ve been ranked 2nd in the region behind only Grand Valley State, and we’re looking to race strong and secure our spot at Nationals. In NCAA Division II, the Top 3 teams from each region qualify automatically, so be on the lookout for that if you’re following the races this weekend. We’re excited to head back up to Wisconsin and run on UW-Parkside’s beautiful course again - although it’ll be a bit chillier than it was last month!
I’m looking forward to filling you guys in after the action.
November 8, 2022
Hey y’all!
This past week was definitely one for the books! Our workout volume was down a bit as we tapered our mileage to prepare for conference and keep the legs feeling fresh.
On Monday we had a bit of a hodgepodge workout, running one mile at race pace along with some 400's and 1K’s for a little more speed. The next day for our easy run, we wore last year’s G-MAC champion shirts and Haley filmed a promo video ahead of our weekend match up.
On Thursday, we piled into the minibus and headed to John Bryan State Park for our final workout all together. Our first workout of the season had been a tempo run in the park, so we capped it off in the same way, reminiscing on the great season we’ve had and on how far we’ve come since that first day. The leaves created a beautiful carpet on the trails around us. A few of us may or may not have gotten a little lost on said trails during the cool down, but after many different loops and a bit of extra mileage we successfully found our way back. Not getting left behind was a pretty good reward in and of itself, but to make it even better Coach Bo had gotten us all
Nothing Bundt Cakes to celebrate our season!
This year we traveled to the conference meet with the guys’ team, but we didn’t let that dull our energy; there were still plenty of crazy dance parties. We made it to Findlay’s course, which was on a golf course, and got ourselves familiar with the layout during our short run. For the 6K, we ran two 3K loops and finished on a very slight downhill. It was definitely the flattest course I’ve ever seen! The day was a bit windy, but the temperature was gorgeous and we were feeling ready for the next morning’s race.
Back at the hotel that night, we scarfed down a bunch of
Olive Garden pasta and sang Happy Birthday to Emily many times - probably more times than years she’s been alive. We had a short team meeting after that and got to watch the hype video that Haley had made of our season. Each of the seniors that wanted to share something from their time on the team gave a quick word, and then the coaches encouraged us for the race, reminding us of all the hard work we’d put in to make it here.
The next morning the wind was really whipping but it was again nice out. A later start to the meet meant a little extra sleep, and we arrived at the meet fresh and ready to lay it all on the course. It was a smaller race than we’ve been used to this season, with only 13 teams making up the conference. We huddled up to pray as a team and yell our famous Yellow Jacket cheer, many of us for the last time. As Coach talked to us and I looked around at 29 of my closest friends, I started to tear up, but told myself I couldn’t cry yet. It was time to be tough.
The gun went off and we got out hard, aiming to defend our title from last year. Our lead pack jumped to the front and stayed solid throughout the race. Savannah got across the line first with an incredible time of 21:22. Naomi, Hannah, and Remi finished 3rd, 4th and 5th overall, and Alayna, Bethany, and Audry rounded out the scoring for the Lady Jackets. Our Top 6 made the All-GMAC First Team, and Audry and I grabbed spots on the Second Team. We had a lot of girls all across the lineup really show up in the last race of the season and put together some awesome races. When all was said and done, we won the meet with only 20 points to take home another G-MAC Championship trophy! Besides the trophy, we got plenty of other swag - hats, shirts, and mini-trophies. Senior year cross country couldn’t have ended in a better way.
I’m especially thankful for the chance we got to connect with the girls in our conference this year. I didn’t count, but our prayer circle was definitely the biggest it’s ever been in my time on the team. It seemed that most everyone who had raced jumped in to join hands with each other and give God the glory. Besides this, we were able to give our happy basket to Northwood University, a team that’s new to the conference! It was neat to be able to welcome them and also connect with them a bit more by running our cool down together. This has become a really cool tradition and a good way to get to know some of our competitors.
We’re off of racing again this week and looking ahead to Regionals, which will be back at UW- Parkside’s course the following Saturday, November 19th . Until then we’ll focus on tuning up our speed, and we’ll be back in action next weekend ready to earn our spot at Nationals in December.
Talk to y’all next time!
November 1, 2022
Hey everybody!
The warm weather seems to have followed us from Alabama back to Ohio this week, and there were certainly no complaints among us as we pounded out some workouts in the sunshine. The weekend off of racing allowed us some extra energy to focus on our speed work, as well as some extra time to relax.
Our first workout of the week was a progression run on the course. For these runs we start out pretty relaxed and then speed the pace up each mile, ending at just a bit slower than race pace. It’s one we haven’t done in a while and was a fun changeup from our typical workouts. After a day of recovery, we hit our second workout - one mile at race pace and a few 1K reps at a quicker turnover.
As far as relaxing, we got outside to play some sand volleyball and Spikeball games throughout the week. Much of our energy was directed into coming up with elaborate Halloween costumes for our annual party. This year the team went all out creating skits to showcase their costumes to the rest of the team. Of note were Beauty and the Beast, One Direction, a cheesy 80's prom group, some leaf blowers, and my personal, completely unbiased favorite - a Top Gun costume in which Rooster dressed up like an actual rooster.
Otherwise, we’ve been focusing on preparing for conference this weekend. We’ll travel to the University of Findlay on Friday afternoon, and our 6K race will get underway at 10:30 the next morning. Going into G-MAC as the favorite, we’re super excited and aiming to defend our title from last year!
See you after then, hopefully as conference champs!
October 26, 2022
Howdy and welcome back to an eventful week!
Such events included a cold and very windy time trial on the track on Tuesday, a much-needed Fall Break starting on Thursday, and a trip down to sunny Alabama for our final 5K on Saturday.
Beginning with the time trial, I was so impressed by our girls taking everything as it came - most notably the 20+ mph winds and borderline freezing temperatures. It was awesome to cheer them on and see the strong bonds of teamwork that channeled them to great performances despite the less-than-ideal conditions. Maddy Spaulding boasted an impressive time of 18:39, and there was a pack of girls in the low 19's not too far behind her, plus many other great races and a few college PR’s! I absolutely love the dynamic this team has of supporting one another even in tough conditions and being able to overcome them together.
The warmer temperatures rolled in on Thursday right along with fall break, and what the long weekend lacked in relaxation, it more than made up for in memorability. The crew that stayed on campus packed their schedules full with working the high school meet that we hosted and finding different places to explore and trail run. They even coordinated an impressive large-scale baking enterprise in which they managed to teach the men’s team to bake, although I’ve been told that some of them added all the frosting ingredients in with the cookie dough…it’s the thought that counts, I suppose!
Down in Alabama, the rest of us were having a blast too. We spent the trip there attempting to find comfortable sleeping positions suitable for mildly cramped vans, eating delicious
Cinnabons courtesy of Coach Bo, and using all our restaurant and gas station stops to run around and explore. Once we made it to the course, we did a short pre-meet run to loosen up our legs and get a feel for the ins and outs of the race day route. The setting sun reflecting off the ponds and bathing the rolling hills in golden light was a gorgeous backdrop. We took some silly group pictures that would likely make great album covers, then headed out from the course. In classic fashion, our night was capped off with pasta, widely regarded as the best pre-race day meal, at
Nothing But Noodles. We turned in for the night after a long day of travel to rest up before the meet.
The morning of the race was again sunny and warm. The course was fast, the day was beautiful, and we were thankful for the opportunity to see what we could do. Our competition consisted of 43 other teams from 15 different states. We took our places on the line, ready as ever to begin, but the starting gun misfired three or four times until finally, they gave up. It was pretty funny to hear “Ready, Go!” as the starting command for a cross country meet!
As the race got underway, our top group settled in with the front pack, and right on down the roster we were able to put together some great races. We nearly all came away with PR’s, and we were blessed to win the entire meet! Our top five runners, led by Savannah this week, all placed within the top 13 spots, and of the 400 girls that raced, all 11 of us finished within the top 80. God blessed us tremendously, and we owe it all to Him!
After the race, we joined hands with our competitors and thanked the Lord for the beautiful day to run and for the salvation we have through Christ. The circle seems to grow bigger with every meet! Next, we gifted our happy basket to Trevecca Nazarene, and our two teams cooled down together, getting to know each other some and talking about our seasons. It was especially neat to connect with their girls since they’re in our conference, and we’ll see them again in a few weeks.
At the awards ceremony, we got a fancy trophy to add to our growing collection and snapped some pictures. Coach Bo and one of his friends who was there, who just so happens to be a Cedarville cross country alumnus, encouraged us with some words about our success. While we’ve seen incredible success in our running, our ultimate value comes from who we are in Christ and the ways that we grow to be like Him. I’m so thankful for leaders that remind us, and model so well for us, what it’s all about.
We finished up our cool downs with a bit more running and a dip in one of the ponds, ate some more pasta, and then started back on the long drive to campus. I can’t say enough about this last cross country 5K and the joy of being on this team, but I suppose I’ll spare the blog from becoming a novel, at least this week.
With the return to Ohio, we’re setting our sights on championship season and preparing for G-MAC in just two short weeks!
Have a great week, and I’ll see y’all next time :)
October 19, 2022
Hey everybody!
Training has been going well, and this past week was no exception. We had a steady state workout, which is a 4-6 mile run about a minute over race pace, on Tuesday, and our first morning workout of the season on Thursday. It was still dark out, so we hopped onto the track and did one of our favorite, fastest workouts, the Michigan. As we finished up our cool downs and the sun rose above us, a beautiful double rainbow broke through the clouds. It’s tough to get up early to do a workout before the sun (and the rest of campus) wakes up, but it’s always so rewarding!
On Friday, the guys not traveling to Alabama raced at Wilmington College. We got a squad together and went out to cheer them on. They had some great showings and PR races, coming away with a second place finish of the 23 teams that were there! It was great to see how well they’re doing this season, and equally great to be at a meet without having to worry about a race of our own!
Temperatures have been getting pretty chilly in the ‘Ville lately, so this week we’ve started to transition more to our cold-weather closets. This weekend, though, is supposed to be much warmer; as the top 11 head down to Huntsville for the final 5K of the season, the highs will be in the 70's again! We’ll take all the sunshine and warmth we can get before heading back to the Midwest, where championship season is almost upon us. It’s crazy to think that we only have one meet left until G-MAC, our conference race!
The gun will go off for us on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. CDT, after the men run their 8K at 7:45 a.m. Rumor has it that this course is very fast, so we’re getting ready to take advantage of that in what is, for many of us, our last cross country 5K ever. Time may fly, but I think we have a good shot of out kicking it this weekend.
Thanks for tuning in, and I’ll see y’all next week!
October 12, 2022
Welcome back!
We had such a fun trip up to Wisconsin this past weekend! Besides running on the prettiest course most of us had ever seen, we also got to spend some time volunteering and enjoy some time hanging out. On Friday morning, we loaded up the bus and headed out to Kenosha. It was awesome to have the whole team there - we’ve really missed our injured folks and it was great to have them together with us. After our first stop, we handed out secret sister gifts. At the start of the season, we’re each assigned another teammate to give these to each week that we race. This week I think the most notable gift was a giant fuzzy tarantula.
A couple more hours of driving passed and we made it to our first stop, Shepherds College! This is the nation’s leading college for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We toured their beautiful campus and heard about the unique, impactful work they do before getting the chance to hang out with the students ourselves. The staff split us up into a couple groups, so some of our girls went bowling, while others helped with dinner prep or just hung out in the dorms. Personally, I thought I had the best gig - I got to play Just Dance with three of the girls for a whole hour! They were all much better than I was. We all cherished the opportunity to interact with the students and be just a tiny part of the great work going on at Shepherds.
After this, we made our way to the UW-Parkside cross country course to do our pre-meet run and get a feel for the course. The sun was just beginning to set, and the rolling hills were bathed in a beautiful golden light as we laced up our shoes and got ready to run. I’ve been trying not to get too sentimental this year, but small moments like this that we get to share as a team are something that I will truly miss. We ran the course as a team, then grabbed dinner at
Noodles and Company before heading to the hotel for the night. Getting mentally ready for a race the next morning looks different for each of us, but for a lot of us, that included yelling and splashing around in the pool.
The next morning, the sun was out again and the conditions were great for a fun, fast race. At 10 a.m., we took the line for our first 6K of the season. The hills were a nice change from the corn fields we’re used to and helped to break up the race a bit. Finishing on a downhill was especially welcome, and our girls sped past the competition to take the win out of the 13 teams at the meet. Bethany placed 2nd overall, and our Top 7, which consisted of the usual suspects, all landed within the top 17! After the race, we got a prayer circle going, and so many competitors were quick to join hands with us and thank God for the blessings He’s given us in the sport of cross country, but most importantly, in sending His Son for us.
On the cool down, a few of us ran to the park across the street where they were hosting a Flannel Fest. Apparently not tired of competition yet, we paused our watches and raced each other down the inflatable slides and through the obstacle courses. After finishing up our runs, we loaded the bus and stopped at the
Mars Cheese Castle for lunch! If you were wondering, ice cream most certainly does taste better in Wisconsin. The rest of our trip back to campus included many bus festivities, such as dance parties and narration of Ninjago books by none other than the author herself, Alayna Ackley. All in all, it was a weekend for the books full of lots of memorable moments with the team.
This weekend we’re off of racing before the top group heads to Huntsville, Alabama for a 5K next Saturday. Until then, we’ll keep training hard, pushing each other, and having a ton of fun.
October 4, 2022
Hey y’all!
This past week was an exciting week for the Lady Jackets! On Thursday afternoon, the girls not competing at Louisville ran a two-mile time trial on the course. It’s tough to simulate the atmosphere and adrenaline of race day with your teammates as your only competitors, but they fought hard and finished well. Our team is deep with talent this year, and it was neat to be able to cheer on the girls as they ran what is in my opinion one of the toughest distances to race.
The next day, our Top 10 headed down to Kentucky for the Louisville Classic. A little past Cincinnati (which, according to Alayna, is the best city in the U.S. and therefore the world), we had some incredible pasta to fuel ourselves for Saturday morning’s race. Once we got to the hotel, we hung out in our rooms, got some homework done, and used the Normatec boots so our legs would feel fresh for the morning. Overnight meets are always fun; they feel like a mini vacation in the middle of the school year!
The next morning, we got to the park with a bit of extra time to set up camp and go over the course for those who were new to it. The fastest section of the men’s 8K got underway as we were warming up, and you could practically feel the energy in the air. Our race came next, and we knew it was an incredible opportunity for us. The grade of competition we faced at Louisville is likely the highest we’ll face all year; we got to race many highly ranked NCAA Division I teams, along with a couple teams ranked ahead of us in Division II.
We had our work cut out for us from the gun as hundreds of athletes from 41 different teams took the line. The field stayed in a pretty tight pack for a while, which made for a chaotic first kilometer or so as everyone tried to get into position and avoid being shoved over or elbowed into a course marker pole. But as the competition around us thinned out, we were able to hold our course and execute, coming away with some good finishes.
The Ackley sisters led the way for the Jackets, with Alayna running 17:39 and Savannah finishing in 17:44. Hannah and Naomi followed close behind, and Remi was our final scorer with a time of 18:02. Audry had a great race as our sixth runner, crossing the line in 18:12, and Bethany came in at 18:16 to round out the Top 7. I followed as our eighth runner of the day, and Aubrey and Sydney brought us home, both breaking the 19:00 barrier - Sydney for the first time! Once again, we had a top-notch cheering squad with representation from both the girls’ and guys’ teams, as well as some of our parents that were able to make it. The guys especially went all out to ensure we had support all throughout the race, sprinting around the course ahead of us to cheer us on eight different times! I don’t think any other team was as well-cheered-on.
At each meet, we put together a “happy basket” for another team with snacks, drinks, and handwritten notes to encourage and congratulate our competitors. This week we chose Bellarmine, so after the race, we went searching for their tent (which is always a process, but especially so at such a big meet!). Eventually we found them, and after giving them the happy basket, we were able to cool down with their girls and get to know them some, which was so much fun.
While the team as a whole had wanted to do a bit more on the day, we were able to put together some strong races and finish 10th, which is a great showing among the teams that were there, and not to mention seven places higher than our mark last year! Beyond that, the whole experience was just a ton of fun, and it was exciting to get to race against so many other talented athletes.
This week, the whole team will travel to Wisconsin to race our first 6K on a hilly UW-Parkside course. It won’t be the last we’ll see of it, as our regional meet will be held at the same course in November, and we’ll look to punch our ticket to Nationals!
Until then, have a great week, and I’ll see ya after Parkside!
September 27, 2022
Welcome to another week!
This week is a bit of a special one, as it’s Homecoming Week here on campus. Coach Bo always uses the opportunity to plan some dress-up days and fun activities for us. Yesterday was monochrome Monday, and on the agenda for the rest of the week we have hot drinks at Rinnova (the campus coffee shop) today, team tie dye on Wednesday, and uniform day on Thursday, when we’ll run our time trial! On Saturday we’ll head with the guys’ team to Tom’s Corn Maze, which is apparently rated in the Top 10 corn mazes in all of Ohio!
Speaking of Top 10, that group will head down to Kentucky for the Louisville Classic on Saturday. The atmosphere of this meet is electric; we’ll be racing against 43 other teams in the fastest section of the 5K at 10:15 a.m. It’ll be a great opportunity for us to race against some big time Division I schools, the likes of North Carolina and Kentucky - both of which are ranked nationally - as well as Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The rest of the team will be running a 2-mile time trial on the course on Thursday.
We’re all excited to test our skills this week as we continue to grind it out every day in workouts.
See y’all after this weekend’s action!
September 21, 2022
Wow! Welcome back everyone!
The first All-Ohio under the lights was a huge success and an immense amount of fun. It was a bit weird to get out of class, have time for a short nap, and then eat dinner all before warming up as the sun set over the course. Spiking up and doing our drills with the music blasting and the flood lights shining definitely added to the excitement. We raced first this week, with the gun going off at 8:25 p.m. Glow sticks on our wrists, we lined up to leave it all on the course for our only home meet of the year.
It was a bit of a crazy first mile with some darker patches on the course and the competition still in a tight pack, but from there it spread out and we were able to make some moves. Knowing the ins and outs of the course was a big advantage, and honestly, so was not being able to see very well! It seemed to make the hills and the slightly-too-long-for-our-liking straightaways disappear.
Having so many people there to cheer and line the homestretch, rallying us to the finish line, was really cool. Our girls led the field, with Alayna, Savannah, Hannah, and Bethany placing 1st through 4th , and were followed by Naomi, Remi, and Audry in 7th , 9th , and 14th to round out our Top 7.
With such an incredible showing, we were able to best the other 32 teams and take home the win at All-Ohio for just the second time in program history! It was a super memorable race and an amazing last home meet for us seniors.
The next day we helped out at the Friendship Invite, a high school meet that we get to host each year. It was also at night, and it was cool being there under the glow sticks and lights again for some more exciting races.
This week is another down week before our Top 10 head to Kentucky for the Louisville Classic on October 1st. We’re starting to hit workouts harder at this point in the season, and I’m excited to see where the rest of the season takes us. One place it’s taken us so far is up four spots to #8 in the NCAA II National Rankings! It’s the second-highest we’ve ever been ranked, and we’re ready to work hard to show we belong in that top group as the season goes along. It’s shaping up to be a good one.
September 14, 2022
Howdy folks!
This past week was a full one of training, with a couple workouts throughout the week and a long run on Saturday. Coach Bo had us run on the course a lot to get prepped for the All-Ohio meet this Friday. Home course advantage is a real thing! For us seniors, it’s our last home meet ever—it’s crazy to look back on how quickly the years have flown by.
We took a break from homework and running on Saturday afternoon and headed over to Caesar Creek State Park with the guys’ team to swim and play games. With a week off of racing and the fall weather right around the corner, it was a great day to enjoy the sunshine. Otherwise, we’ve just been focusing on gearing up for the meet this weekend! Some of the upperclassmen had fun with a night photo shoot where we filmed a short clip looking tough in our uniforms to cap off our hype video. There’s plenty of awesome footage from the Wright State meet, and it’s being shown in chapel this Friday before the race.
All-Ohio is at night this year, which we’ve never done before! It will be complete with glow sticks, flood lights, and music. Our ladies will race the 5K at 8:25 p.m., followed by the men in their first 8K appearance of the season at 9:10 p.m. We’re very much looking forward to the cooler temperatures and the fun atmosphere that racing in the dark is bound to bring, and we hope to see as many of you there as can make it!
September 6, 2022
Hey Yellow Jacket fans!
This past week the team had a good week of training, capped off by a fun first meet at Wright State. With Fairborn Community Park being so close to campus, there was a whole squad of parents cheering us on, plus a few alumni and the guys’ team, who raced first!
As for the race itself, we rested some of our top returners, making way for freshman Audrianna Enns to lead the way for our girls, boasting an 11th place finish and a shiny time on a (slightly long) course of 18:15. Aubrey Harrington channeled her top-notch leg speed to fly by me in the finish chute, propelling her to a 18:52 and pushing me along to a 18:53. Freshmen Corinne Lynch and Sydney Yoder rounded out the Top 5, with finishing times of 19:09 and 19:22.
A post-race prayer circle and chill cool down under a beautiful sunset rounded out our night. A couple of us cooled off in the pond as part of our cool down. All in all, it was a great experience of racing alongside new teammates and encouraging each other to be the best that we could be.
This week we have the weekend off of racing and are starting to ramp up the speed work in our workouts. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and telling y’all all about it!
August 31, 2022
Howdy everybody! My name is Becky Madsen and I’m a senior marketing major from Indianapolis, Indiana. I can’t wait to introduce y’all to the amazing team that we have this year and update you on our season as it goes along!
We have 30 Lady Jackets on the roster this year, with seven freshmen coming in; it’s been awesome to get to know them so far and welcome them to the team. This year we got to come to campus about a week early to run together and have fun with some different activities and traditions.
In typical fashion, we did a morning run to The Clifton Mill and scarfed down some great pancakes and such—thankfully Coach Bo drove us back, so we didn’t have to run back on full stomachs! We also had an ice cream and mini golf night at Young’s Dairy with the guys’ team. I’d venture to say we get just as competitive on a mini golf course as we do on a cross country course. And finally, we did something new this year and dressed up for an Old Hollywood-themed murder mystery night. Most of us aren’t cut out to be actresses, but we sure had fun with it.
As classes are getting into full swing and racing is coming right around the corner, we’ve been putting in the work and preparing to compete. The USTFCCCA just released its official preseason rankings, with the Lady Jackets coming in at #2 in the Midwest Region and #12 in the nation!
Our first meet is the Wright State Classic in Fairborn, Ohio, this Friday, September 2nd. The gun will go off for us at 6:45 p.m. after the men’s race. Both teams will be running a 5K. I’m excited for us to get that first race under our belts and kick off our season!
See ya next time!
Becky Madsen is a senior from Indianapolis, Indiana. She is a four-year member of the Lady Jackets and a Dean's List student as a marketing major.
