Yellow Jackets post strong day two performances at GMAC

By Matt Schaeckenbach 

One chance. That’s all you get each year for becoming a conference champion. One mistake, one misstep, and you’ve lost it. Go home and come back next year. There’s only one winner, and this time around, it’s not you.

That’s the grim reality that athletes faced at the GMAC Conference Championships. 

However, Cedarville took back the track on day two against some of the best in Division II with its eyes set on the prize. 

The Yellow Jackets struck first with the women’s one-mile run, as senior Emily Walsh set to claim the title.

In a tight field, Walsh showed the composure of a seasoned competitor as she joined the leading race pack. But as the final laps came, Walsh dropped the hammer, putting in a surge and leaving the other athletes behind.

Racing towards the finish line, she crossed in first place with a time of 4:52.79–nearly five seconds ahead of the second-place runner from Findlay. 

Walsh was joined by teammates Audrianna Enns, Ruby Gross and Abby Kaiser, who placed fourth, sixth and eighth, respectively, to earn the Yellow Jackets a massive 19 points in the event. 

Following Walsh in the mile, the men took the track for the 60-meter hurdle final. Leading the way for Cedarville in this event was the school record holder, Calvin Speicher. However, he was lining up against the best hurdle final in the country, with six athletes running under eight seconds in the prelims, led by Ashland Freshman Jon Lutz, who currently ranks No. 3 in Division II. 

From the gun, it was a good race for Speicher; the field seemed to be running in sync over the hurdles as the race was up for grabs. However, over the third barrier, Lutz began to pull ahead of the pack, and over the final hurdle, three runners seemed to cross at the same time. 

As the scoreboard flashed the times of the first two runners, it paused, dragging on as Speicher and the other two athletes waited for the times to appear. 

They came in rapid succession, all reading the same number: 7.99. 

Speicher had been edged out of the podium by eight thousandths of a second–almost as quick as a honeybee’s wing-flap–bumping him to fifth place. 

Despite the heartbreaking loss, Speicher was still positive about the performance.

 “I thought it was smooth overall. It’s definitely nice to stay consistent with the sub-eight times. [The placement] isn’t what we came here to do… but it’s still a good weekend overall, and we’ll go from there.”

Following Speicher in the hurdles, Brandon Rogers took back the track in the final for the men’s 400-meter dash. Lining up against Findlay star Sherron Jones, Rogers had his work cut out for him. 

“I knew Sherron [Jones] was going to give me a challenge, but being in lane five helped a lot strategically,” Rogers said.

Being on the inside allowed Rogers to chase Jones down as the gun went off. But Jones wouldn’t give up the stagger easily. Jones–the 200-meter dash champion at this year’s conference meet–raced Rogers to the stagger, trying to take the initiative in the race and keep Rogers behind him. However, Rogers wouldn’t be denied the crown. Putting in a surge, he pulled ahead of Jones going into the final turn.

Coming onto the home stretch, Jones swung out wide, trying to pass Rogers on the outside. 

“He was closer than I would’ve liked at the finish,” Rogers said. 

But staying composed through the finish line, Rogers edged him out, crossing first with a winning time of 47.11–another No. 2 all-time mark for Cedarville in the event. 

His teammates, Jeremy Johnson and Michael Braxton, finished in fourth and fifth, helping the Yellow Jackets secure 19 points in the event. 

As Rogers was getting his medal for the 400, though, sophomore Josh Paul was in the fight of his life in the men’s triple jump. 

Although Paul came in with the top mark, it was no easy road to victory. Paul held the lead for most of the competition, but athletes from Ashland and Tiffin were closing in. On the final jumps of the competition, Ashland’s Christian Seibert leaped his way to an impressive 14.59 meters, taking the lead from Paul. However, the very next jump, Tiffin’s Reggie Rogers put together a masterclass jump, barely edging out Siebert with a jump of 14.60 meters.

Just moments before, Paul had been in the driver’s seat. Now he found himself in third place at the bottom of the podium with one jump remaining. 

Stepping onto the runway, Paul remained calm. Drawing in a deep breath, he pushed powerfully out on his first couple of steps and charged towards the pit. Hitting the board perfectly on his first step, he put together a strong first phase, held his form through the second, and flew into the pit on his third. 

Soaring through the air, the crowd erupted as he hit the sand, instantly knowing it was enough. As the measurement came in, it read 14.90 meters, winning the competition and shattering his own school record. 

“[It] was the first meet in the past month that I felt that I was able to empty the tank and get everything out of myself,” Paul said. “Though there’s plenty to still work on, all glory goes to God for letting me and the team have a good GMAC.”

On the women’s side, Summer Swartwout posted two strong performances in the 60 and 200-meter dash. In the 60, she got a nationals preview against some of the fastest women in Division II. However, Swartwout rose to the occasion as the gun went off. 

The group stayed together for most of the race, but in the final few meters, Hillsdale’s Anna Roessner pulled away, and Swartwout went with her. Crossing the finish line in second, Swartwout clocked a 7.46, edging out Tiffin’s Nevaeh Lewis by nine thousandths of a second. 

The time is the third fastest in Cedarville history–falling just behind Swartwout’s other two top marks. 

After the 60, Swartwout locked back in for the 200-meter finals, running against a nearly identical field. From the gun, Swartwout was chased by the All-American Junior from Findlay, Leah Smith. 

Rounding the corner, Swartwout held a slight lead over Smith, but in the final few meters, Smith’s top-end speed let her pull away. Swartwout crossed the finish line in 24.01–the second fastest time in school history–and placed second overall in the meet for a pair of silvers on the day. 

In between Swartwout’s runs, mid-distance king Caleb Sultan pulled up for the final in the men’s 800. As was common at this meet, he lined up against some of the nation’s best, highlighted by Ashland’s Colton Thress. 

Sultan got out hard from the gun, but surprisingly, he didn’t take the lead. Walsh’s Brody Pumneo–a 1:49 runner in the event–blasted out from the start to take the early lead. He was followed by Thress, and right behind him was Sultan. 

The group remained tight through the first lap, but coming into the final turn, Sultan and Thress made their moves. Swinging around Pumneo, the two took off, quickly pulling away from the rest of the field as Sultan edged up onto Thress’ shoulder. 

In the home stretch, both athletes gave it everything they had, pushing each other all the way to the finish line, where Sultan fell just short of surpassing Thress. 

Sultan ran a time of 1:51.07 to take the silver.

“I’m always upset when I don’t win, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to compete in a conference as good as the GMAC,” Sultan said. 

Thanks to racing some of the best at conference, Sultan will be well-prepared going into the national meet in March, where he’ll see Thress again for a rematch, this time with the national title on the line.

The final event of the day was the men’s 4×400-meter relay. The race would see a much-anticipated rematch between Cedarville and Ashland. The Eagles had taken the title the previous year, but Cedarville looked to take the title for the first time with their star-studded quartet of Brandon Rogers, David Gerdin, Michael Braxton and Jeremy Johnson. 

From the gun, the Jackets took the lead, with Rogers building a small gap for Gerdin. Gerdin held his own, pulling away from Ashland ever so lightly as he passed off to Braxton. 

Braxton took off strong, but Ashland had no intention of yielding the title easily to Cedarville. Junior Dominick Brister came out like he was running a 200, overtaking Braxton on the turn and giving the Eagles the lead. However, Braxton raced smart, staying on Brister’s tail. Coming into the straightaway, he swung around the outside of Brister, taking the lead and passing off to Jeremy Johnson on the anchor leg. 

Johnson had been the anchor on last year’s relay team, coming up just short as he let Ashland hold on for the win.

He didn’t make the same mistake twice.

Flying around the track unchallenged, Johnson crossed the line in first place for the Yellow Jackets with a winning time of 3:10.38. 

“Honestly, I wanted this win more than the open 400,” Rogers said. “There’s something different about running for your team. It was a great team effort, and it meant a lot to finish the weekend that way. All glory to God.” 

The Yellow Jackets had a phenomenal weekend on both the men’s and women’s side as they each secured fourth place at the meet, with the men earning 90.5 points, and the women earning 70.  

“We are super excited about the success we had this weekend at GMAC,” Assistant Coach Max Kittle said. “I’m really proud of this team and how hard they competed. I’m excited to carry this momentum into the postseason as we bring our largest crew to the national meet.”

The Yellow Jackets will compete in Virginia Beach, VA, for the 

national meet on March 13-14. 

Matt Schaeckenbach is a Junior Liberal Arts major from Iowa City, Iowa. He loves spending time with his family, doing shenanigans with his friends, and encouraging others in Christ.