Cedarville Magazine, Spring 2023

CEDARVILLE AGAIN EARNS PRESIDENTS’ AWARD FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE In 2022, Cedarville University was the recipient of the NCAA Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence for the 10th consecutive year. The University is one of 44 NCAA Division II member schools to receive the prestigious award. “This award acknowledges the quality of student-athletes we are blessed to have at Cedarville, along with the influence of our outstanding faculty,” stated Athletic Director Chris Cross. “Additionally, we appreciate the leadership of Vice President for Academics Dr. Tom Mach ’88, who has been a constant source of encouragement and support to our department.” The award recognizes institutions for achieving four-year Academic Success Rates (ASR) of 90% or higher. Cedarville finished tied for 10th out of 310 member schools in the country with an ASR of 94%. The ASR is the percentage of student-athletes who graduate within six years of initial collegiate enrollment and consists of virtually all Division II student-athletes. Cedarville is one of three Great Midwest Athletic Conference institutions to receive the award, joining Hillsdale College and Trevecca Nazarene University. YELLOW JACKETS SHINE IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS Cedarville Yellow Jackets made their mark in three NCAA Championship events this fall. The women’s cross country team placed a best-ever seventh in the Division II Championship in University Place, Washington. The event was part of the 2022 Division II National Championships Festival near Seattle. Savannah Ackley ’25 paced the Lady Jackets in 41st place with a time of 21:24.9 for the 6,000-meter race. Hannah Rhem ’23 was 50th (21:31.1), and Naomi Herman ’24 finished 57th (21:34.6). They are the three best NCAA individual performances in the history of the Cedarville women’s cross country program. Cedarville was ranked as high as sixth in the country, finished a best-ever second in the Midwest Regional, and repeated as Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) champions. Evan Leist ’23 earned All-America honors at the NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country Championship, finishing 37th with a time of 30:27.5 for the 10K. He is the third Yellow Jacket men’s runner to achieve NCAA AllAmerica recognition in cross country, joining Matt Brooker ’14 (2013) and Benjamin Tuttle ’15, MMin ’16 (2015). Finally, the women’s soccer team won the G-MAC regular season title and was one of two sites to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional. The Lady Jackets posted a best-ever 17-4-1 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history. Savannah Ackley Hannah Rhem Naomi Herman Evan Leist 32 | Cedarville Magazine YELLOW JACKET

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