California Here We Come

Track Sends 18 To Fresno For NAIA Nationals

The Bethel College track and field teams will be well represented at the NAIA National Championships May 24-26 in Fresno, California. Twelve men and six women have hit the standard and will be competing at this national event.

Leading the way for the men will dual event qualifiers Geoffrey King and Rod Waters. King will run the 200m and is the anchor of the 4x100m relay team that is currently ranked third in the country, while Waters will run the hurdles and is also a member of that relay team. Chris Warhop and Brandon Thomas will also compete in the 4x100m relay, while BJ Austin will serve as the relay alternate. The Pilots also have qualified the 4x800m relay team of Vincent Reel, Scott Robinson, David Prieb, and Andy Gray. Zach Burrington has qualified in the pole vault, JJ Jackson has hit the mark in the shot put, and Calon Naragon has qualified to run the marathon.

Pacing the women is dual event qualifier Kate Bishop. Bishop will run the 400m hurdles and is a member of the 4x400m relay team that is currently ranked ninth in the country. Other members of that relay team include Kerri Goodrich, Heather Rathbun, and Jessie Spearman. The Lady Pilots also have qualified a pair of freshman pole vaulters in Caitlyn Gager, who is currently ranked eighth, and Ann O’Keefe.

This will be the largest group that the Pilot track and field program has taken to the NAIA Outdoor National meet.

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Record Falls at Last Chance Meet

Women's Track 4x400m Team Shatters Record At Aquinas

The Bethel College men’s and women’s track teams participated at the Aquinas Twilight last chance meet and made the most of their opportunity.

The Bethel women’s 4x400m relay shattered the school record on their way to hitting the NAIA qualifying mark by running a time of 3:55.35. The team comprised of Kate Bishop, Heather Rathbun, Kerri Goodrich, and Jessie Spearman; came into the meet just .01 off the standard needed, and was looking to meet that mark. Instead, the relay exceeded that mark by knocking six seconds off of last weekends time. The Lady Pilots 4x4oom is currently ranked ninth in the country according to the latest NAIA performance lists.

Congrats to Kate Bishop, Heather Rathbun, Kerri Goodrich, and Jessie Spearman on a job well done, and on the new school record.

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Pilots Sail Well at NCCAA Meet

In the 2007 NCCAA National Meet, the Pilot men bared the rainy final day and finished 5th nationally at the event held at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana earning four national champions and five All—Americans in the process.

Placing 1st in the 100m dash was Geoffrey King with a time of 10.74. He also placed 1st in the 200m dash. The Pilot 4x100m relay team of King, Brandon Thomas, Chris Warhop, and Rod Waters placed 1st with a time of 41.30, a mark which puts them third in the nation currently in the NAIA.
In addition to King’s All—American efforts, four other Pilots earned All—American status: Bradon Thomas finished 2nd in the 400m run with a time of 49.23 and runner—up in the long jump with a leap of 22’11”, Rod Waters finished 2nd in the 400m hurdles with a time of 54.35 and third in the110m hurdles with a time of 15.03, Jeff Hardman finishing 2nd in the javelin with a toss of 169’11”, and Chris Warhop as part of the national champion 4x100m relay team.

The Bethel women’s track and field squad also had a strong meet and finished 6th nationally, earning five All—Americans.

Finishing runner—up and claiming All—American honors in the pole vault for the Lady Pilots were Caitlyn Gager and Ann O’Keefe, each clearing a height of 11’0”. Other Bethel All—Americans were 3rd place finishers Natalie Young in the javelin with a toss of 125’3”, Jessie Spearman in the 100m dash with a time of 12.81, and Kate Bishop in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:03.98. The Bethel women’s 4x100m relay team of Gager, O’Keefe, Spearman, and Bishop also placed 3rd with a time of 49.54.

The Bethel men’s and women’s track teams are back in action on Wednesday, May 9th at the Aquinas Invitational Meet. At Aquinas the Pilots hope to better distance, times, and marks for the upcoming NAIA national meet.

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King Recieves The Wheeler

Three Event Champion King Wins Wheeler Award At NCCAA Track Nationals

Bethel College senior sprinter Geoffrey King has received two of the NCCAA track and field's highest honors after winning three events at the national meet that concluded over the week end.

King was named Athlete of the meet due to his first-place finishes in the 100m and 200m as well as anchoring the winning 4x100m team. King then also was named the 2007 winner of the very prestigious NCCAA Wheeler Award. This award is given to the top track and field athlete of the year in the areas of athletic, academic, and character values. King is the third Bethel College athlete to win this award in the past five years after Erica Young won the award a year ago and Staci Weisser was named with this honor in 2003.

Track Places Nine On All-MCC Team

The Bluewave have placed nine individuals on the All Mid Central Conference team.

Receiving honors on the men’s side were senior sprinter Geoffrey King, who won the 100m and 200m at the MCC meet this past week end, juniors Brandon Thomas, Chris Warhop, and Rod Waters, and Freshman Jeff Hardman. Thomas won the 400m and finished second in the long jump and 200m, Warhop came in third in the long jump and in the 100m, Waters won the 400m hurdles while placing second in the 110m hurdles, and Hardman won the javelin. King, Thomas, and Waters were all a part of the conference champion 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams, while Warhop was a member of the 4x100m relay team.

Pacing the women receiving this honor were event winners junior Kate Bishop in the 400m hurdles, freshman Caitlyn Gager in the pole vault, and junior Natali Young in the javelin. Also, named all conference was freshman Jessie Spearman who finished third in the 100m and 200m. Spearman was also a member of the conference runner up 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams.

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Pilots Fight Hard; Earn Second

Track Men and Women Finish Second At MCC Meet

The Bethel College men’s and women’s track teams both finished second at the MCC meet held at Indiana Wesleyan University on Saturday, April 27. The men finished with 184 points behind only Indiana Wesleyan with 208 points, while the women tallied 141 points to Indiana Wesleyan’s 195.5 points.

Pacing the men was senior sprinters Geoffrey King and Brandon Thomas. King won the 100m at 10.75 and the 200m while Thomas won the 400m at 49.60, finished second in the 200m and placed second in the long jump at 22—1. Other event winners were Rod Waters in the 400m hurdles at 55.53 and Jeff Hardman at 177—8 in the javelin. The Pilots also claimed top honors in both the 4x100m relay at 41.51 and the 4x400m relay at 3:20.27. The 4x100m team was made up of King, Thomas, Waters, and Chris Warhop, while the 4x400m relay team consisted of King, Waters, Thomas, and Jontae Randolph. The men’s 4x800m team of Andy Gray, Scott Robinson, Vincent Reel, and David Prieb finished third with an NAIA Nationals qualifying time of 7:51.48.

The women were led by three event winners. Kate Bishop won the 400m hurdles at 1:05.66 in an NAIA Nationals qualifying time, while Natalie Young won the javelin at 122—3 and Caitlyn Gager won the pole vault at 11—0. Placing second for the Lady Pilots were Ann O’Keefe in the pole vault at 10—0 and Holly Farrer in the shot put at 38—0. The 4x100m relay team of Bishop, O’Keefe, Gager, and Jessie Spearman at 50.10, and the 4x400m relay team of Bishop, Spearman, Heather Rathbun, and Kerri Goodich alos placed second in the meet.

The Pilots placed nine individuals on the All—MCC team. The men that received that honor were King, Thomas, Warhop, Waters, and Hardman. The women were Bishop, Spearman, Young, and Gager.

Bethel will next compete at NCCAA Outdoor Nationals at Taylor University on Friday and Saturday, May 4—5.

Sorry From the Staff

Those who help run the blog would like to apologize for the lack of 2007 outdoor season updates. Although the upcoming stories are late we hope that their content was read on the official athletic website. If you haven't read these stories, we are happy to republish the Bethel website stories and authentically write the others