Cedarville Magazine, Spring 2020

SPORTS Former Yellow Jacket distance runners Joe Niemiec ’14 and Katie (Lanphier) Ruhlman ’12, M.S.N. ’15 qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with their performances at the Chevron Houston Marathon. The pair joined fellow Ceda r v i l l e Un i v e r s i t y graduate and Athletic Hall of Famer Sergio Reyes ’03 in Atlanta on February 29 to attempt to make the U.S. Olympic Team. Reyes ran for the Yellow Jackets from 2000–02. He was a two-time NAIA and NCCAA All-American in cross country and won an individual 2002 NCCAA title. On the track, he was the 2002 NAIA outdoor 10,000-meter champion and a six-time NAIA All-American. Niemiec ran for the Yellow Jackets from 2010–14. He was a member of the cross country squad that placed 15th at the NCAA Division II Championship in both 2012 and 2013 and was an NCCAA All-American on the track. Ruhlman, who is an assistant women’s cross country coach for Cedarville, competed for the Lady Jackets from 2008–12. On the track, she was a four-time NCCAA All-American. ALUMNI QUALIFY FOR OLYMPIC TRIALS MORE INFO To watch Yellow Jackets men’s baseball and women’s softball home games via livestreaming or to read more athletics stories, visit yellowjackets.cedarville.edu . Pictured L to R: Katie (Lanphier) Ruhlman (Photo courtesy of Runners Plus Elite) ; Joe Niemiec (Photo by Stone Malick) ; and Sergio Reyes (Photo courtesy of the Urban Cow Half Marathon) . NCCAA CHAMPIONS The Yellow Jackets men’s and women’s track & field teams captured National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Indoor Track & Field Championships on February 21–22 at Doden Field House. The Lady Jackets piled up 19 All-America performances and secured their third-straight banner in the NCCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship. They own eight total. The men had 16 All-America performances and won their first NCCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship in 13 years. The Cedarville men won indoor titles in 2006 and 2007. Head Coach Jeff Bolender ’91 and his staff were named 2020 NCCAA Indoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year. Cedarville Magazine | 41