Cedarville Wins Back-to-Back Titles

11.5.22

FINDLAY, Ohio--   Already nationally and regionally ranked, Cedarville’s program lived up to the high expectations by taking home the title at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Cross Country Championship on Saturday morning.
 
The Yellow Jackets had a handful of student-athletes, including six in the top 10 with a cluster of Hillsdale and Walsh runners to follow.
 
Cedarville’s depth and overall strength was on full display as they swept in individual awards. Jeff Bolender was voted the Great Midwest Coach of the Year for Women’s Cross Country. He has pushed the program to a No. 6 ranking at the national level and a No. 2 ranking in the Midwest Region. Freshman Audrianna Enns was named the Freshman of the Year. Enns  finished first among all freshman with a time of 22:25.2 and earned Second-Team All-Conference Honors.
 
The Yellow Jackets clocked a team time of 1:48:15 with Sophomore Savannah Ackley leading the pack. Ackley was awarded the 2022 Great Midwest Runner of the Year after finishing first overall with a time of 21:22.8. Naomi Herman, Hannah Rhem, Remington Hobson, Alayna Ackley, and Bethany Sholl followed. Herman, Rhem, and Hobson finished fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. Alayna Ackley and Bethany Sholl rounded out Cedarville’s top six runners at seventh and ninth place.
 
Those six received All-Conference First Team honors.
 
Hillsdale’s Liz Wamsley earned a second-place finish 21:27.9 with teammate Gwynne Riley also finishing in the top 10 at eighth place. The duo led the Chargers to second place team finish.
 
Gabrielle Lawrence of Findlay rounds out the First-Team All-Conference selections. Lawrence finished 10th as the Oilers finished fourth as a team.
 
The Cavaliers from Walsh University had four athletes finish in the top twenty.  These athletes also earned Second-Team honors. Overall, Walsh finished third with a total team time of 1:53:24.
 
The Elite 26 Award was presented to Walsh’s Bridget Hahn, a junior majoring in Theology and Accounting with a perfect 4.0 GPA. The Elite 26 Award is a prestigious honor, awarded to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA among all entered participants.
 
Cedarville won its seventh team title in the last 11 years and second consecutive title. The Yellow Jackets also claimed top team honors in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015,2016, & 2021.
 
Teams will start preparation for the NCAA Midwest Regional in Kenosha, WI on Saturday Nov. 19. The Division II National Championship will take place on Dec. 2 in University Place, WA.