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Cedarville Magazine
Track All-American Runner Focuses on Continued Success
Carsyn Koch ’18, from Washburn, Maine, became Cedarville
University’s first female NCAA All-American in any sport during
this past spring track and field season.
Koch placed second in the 800-meter run at the 2015 NCAA
Division II Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship
at Grand Valley State University in Allendale,
Michigan. Koch, as a freshman, broke her own
school record with a time of 2:05.21.
“Carsyn made the most of her opportunity by
running with confidence and pushing the pace
right from the beginning,” noted Head Coach
Jeff Bolender ’91. “In all her races in the outdoor
season, she was beaten by only one collegiate
athlete in an individual race, and that was in the
NCAA final at the national championship.”
Koch joins Matt Brooker ’14 (2013 men’s
cross country) as Cedarville’s only NCAA All-
Americans to date. The Yellow Jackets just
completed their third active year of Division II
membership.
During the spring track and field season, Koch
also broke a school record in the indoor 500meters
and was part of record-setting performances in the
indoor distance medley and the outdoor 4-x-800
open, 400, 800, and 1,500.
“Carsyn is hard-working, humble, motivated, and focused in her
training and racing,” Bolender said. “She is a joy to work with and a
wonderful Christian young lady.”
Record Number of Athletes Earn Academic Honor
One hundred and one. That’s how many Cedarville varsity athletes
were named to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC)
Academic All-Conference Team, representing more than half of all
sophomore through senior varsity athletes at Cedarville.
The 2014–15 G-MAC Academic All-Conference Team was
composed of a record 416 student-athletes from nine member
institutions while covering 18 championship-sponsored sports.
For the third consecutive year, Cedarville University had a
conference-high number of student-athlete selections, while
Trevecca Nazarene University was second with 57 honorees.
There were 282 Cedarville varsity athletes in 16 NCAA
Division II sports for the 2014–2015 school year. Since only
sophomore through senior varsity student-athletes are considered
for the honor, Cedarville’s total eligible number was 201. There were
81 freshmen participating in varsity sports last year.
To be named to the G-MAC Academic All-Conference Team, a
student-athlete’s cumulative grade point averagemust be aminimum
of 3.30 based on the 4.0 system, and he or she must have reached
sophomore athletic and academic standing while completing at least
one full academic year at the nominating institution.
Carsyn Koch ’18 runs at the front of the pack in the NCAA 800-meter final.
Photo by Kyle Terwillegar