The Bethel College Cross Country program is pleased to announce that seven individuals were honored NCCAA Scholar-Athletes.  Harrison Fausey and Courtney Chapman are the two seniors honored, while juniors Justin Nelson, Trisha Karcher, Brittany Fabris, Keri Lencke, and Trisha Miller were also recognized for their perseverance and excellence in the academic arena.  These seven individuals were recognized during the banquet following the NCCAA national cross country championships at Cedarville University.  An athlete must be a junior or senior and have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 in order to be recognized as a scholar-athlete.

"We are proud of these individuals for this much deserved recognition," shared Ryan Sommers, head cross country coach.  "They are leaders on our team as well as in the classroom.  The discipline it takes to excel in both arenas is often misunderstood.  However, they have made the necessary sacrifices to experience such success."

Please join us in congratulating these individuals on their honor.  They demonstrate the discipline and proper perspective we look for in Bethel student-athletes.

The Pilots once again demonstrated the depth of their character their performances at the NCCAA Championships hosted by Cedarville University.  The temperature was nice and the sunny skies were welcomed, but the mortal enemy of runners showed up as well.  A strong wind swept across the course attacking the athletes head on in several areas of the course.  As a result the times are not indicative of the competitive field at the meet.  Nonetheless, everyone had to face the same elements.  Only the top seven for each team were allowed to participate.

Trisha Miller again led the Pilots with an All-American finish of 4th place overall in a time of 18:43.  Rumor has it that she put on a monster kick and passed three competitors in the last 100 meters to gain that finishing position.  This is her third consecutive year of being an All-American.  Keri Lencke tied her second best time ever and finished in 52nd place.  They were followed by Senior Courtney Chapman who ran her last cross country race as a collegiate athlete.  Next was Brittany Fabris who finished immediately behind her teammate and friend Courtney.  Newcomers Leah Schwartz, Christina Adams, and Ashley Baber rounded out the top 7 for the Lady Pilots.  As a team the ladies finished 13th out of 25 teams.

The conference championship was hosted by Goshen College at Shanklin Park in Goshen, Ind.  It was a beautiful fall morning with crisp cool temps, sunny skies, and a light breeze.  All the teams were geared up for the competition which would determine the qualifiers for the NAIA national championships to be held in Fort Vancouver, Washington in two week.  The MCC Conference is always a competitive meet and on today's course marred with obstacles only intensified the anticipation.

In the end the Lady Pilots finished 6th just being edged for 5th place.  Trisha Miller led the way with a 3rd place finish in 18:35.  It was her first race in a month due to an illness.  She was followed Keri Lencke who ran her second fasted time ever.  Finishing in the third and fourth positions were Courtney Chapman and Brittany Fabris who ran their best or second best times of the year.  Rounding out the top 5 was Leah Schwartz.  Finishing just outside the top 7 were Paige Downey and Charity Brown.  Paige ran a new personal record while Charity ran her second best time ever.

Both the men's and women's fields were loaded as 36 teams lined up for the start of the Great Lakes Cross Country Challenge hosted by Aquinas College at Comstock Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Both squads would be competing with some of its members missing due to academic commitments and illness/injury, however, teammates were determined to step up and fill in the gaps.

The Lady Pilots finished 26^th out of 33 scoring teams.  They were led by junior, Keri Lencke and sophomore, Christina Adams.  The rest of the top 5 scoring spots were filled by Leah Schwartz, Ashley Baber, and Brittany Fabris.  Both Christina and Leah ran their second fastest times of the season.  Although she was just outside of a scoring positions, freshman, Paige Downey's effort helped her run a collegiate best of 22:54!