The Record Online
Spring/Summer 2001
First National Title in School History
Patton Named Coach of the Year - Again
 The
trip to Cedarville, Ohio in May proved a fruitful one for the Greenville
College Men’s Track and Field team as they won the National
Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Championship. This
feat marked the first national championship by a Greenville College
team in any sport, ever.
Greenville outdistanced second place Malone College
(Canton, Ohio) by a margin of 40 points, 173 to 133. Following closely
in third was six-time defending champion Taylor University (Upland,
Ind.) with 127 points. The meet was the largest national gathering
to date, as 27 NCCAA teams participated.
For the second year in a row, Greenville College Head
Coach Brian Patton was named NCCAA Men’s Coach of the Year.
Patton gave credit to his coaching staff of Shawn Andrews, Jeff
Boelé, Tom Broomfield, Mike Harwood, Bob Johnson, and Rachelle
Klopfenstein.
The Panthers started off at a good pace at the national
meet, as they led with 72 points after the first day of competition.
A majority of those points came in the hammer throw where Cory Merriman,
Chris Vogler, Brent Baucom, Kyle Glash and John Turner placed second,
third, fourth, sixth and eighth, respectively.
Another big scoring event was the triple jump, as Carlos Leonard,
Justin Bennett, and Damaan Hutcherson leaped to second, third, and
fifth. Leonard’s jump of 46’ 10” provisionally qualified
him for the NCAA Division III national meet.
Also raising his qualifying mark was Nate Johns in
the decathlon. Johns became the first NCAA national automatic qualifier
with his effort of 6438 points in the 10-event contest. His score
also broke his own school record set earlier this season.
Other scores on the day came in the high jump, 10,000
meter run, and 4x800 meter relay. Johnny Levels and Justin Bennett
placed fourth and fifth in the high jump. Jeff Boelé secured
six points with a third place finish in the 10K. En route to a school
record in the 4x800, Aaron Bowlin, Dustin Franckey, Justin Snider,
and Brian Weiss ran 7:47.76 to capture a close second place.
The second day of the meet was a big one for the Panthers.
Scoring in all but three events the entire meet, the team’s
depth became evident. Carlos Leonard and Justin Bennett once again
came up big in the long jump. Leonard was the event champion, while
Bennett placed sixth. Justin Snider repeated last year’s third
place finish in the 1500, while Dustin Franckey followed in fourth.
Other multiple scoring events for the men were the
100 and 200 meter dashes and the 5000 meter run. Jeff Boelé
and Jimmy Bean earned points with their third and seventh place
finishes in the 5K. Shane Cress, Carlos Leonard, and Toye Watts
stepped to the track in the 100 and wound up finishing in third,
fifth and sixth in the race of nine. Cress, Watts, and Leonard again
stepped to the line in the 200. Cress claimed victory while Watts
finished seventh.
In an exciting race, the 4x100 team edged out Bethel
College. Hutcherson, Cress, Watts and Leonard were able to capture
this event for Greenville for the second year in a row. A string
of 5th and 6th place finishes assured points for the Panthers when
Brian Weiss, Aaron Bowlin and Paul Lueken completed their events,
Weiss in the 800 meter run (5th), Bowlin in the 400 meter dash (6th),
and Lueken in the 400 meter hurdles (6th).
Three individuals came up with surprisingly grand
performances. Seeded ninth in the javelin, Michael Brewer rose to
the occasion and finished with a career best and a third place ranking.
Mark Niemuth’s third place 110 meter hurdle race was much the
same. In the discus, Brent Baucom had a career best throw and fifth
place performance.
To conclude the meet, the 4x400 team (Aaron Bowlin,
Shane Cress, Antwan Garnett, and Nate Johns) crushed the old school
record by over four seconds and grabbed second place with their
time of 3:20.11.
Three Panthers earned At-Large All-American honors.
An At-Large All-American is awarded to an individual who did not
win an event but his or her performance ranks among the top all-time
in that event. Nate Johns received All-American honors for his decathlon
score, which ranks second in NCCAA history. Cory Merriman was awarded
All-American for his toss in the hammer throw, which stands tenth
all-time for the NCCAA.
In all, Greenville’s student athletes amassed
5 new school records, 18 season best performances, and 14 lifetime
bests.
Five men earn Academic All-American honors for the
Panthers. Jeff Boelé, Jimmy Bean, Shane Cress, Justin Snider,
and Stephen Troup all carry grade point averages of 3.73 or higher
in their respective majors.
Two other firsts for Greenville came in the form of
individual awards, as the NCCAA honored women’s trackster Amy
Ferrell and men’s Jeff Boelé with the Wheeler Award.
The Wheeler Award recognizes a male and female student athlete who
exemplifies “Christian character, athletic excellence, and
campus leadership.”
As the team prepared for their return trip, Patton
commented, “It really doesn’t seem real.” It certainly
doesn’t get any better than this: The GC Panthers are the 2001
Outdoor Track and Field NCCAA National Champions.
Related Links:
Greenville College Men's
Track & Field
Greenville College Women's
Track & Field
Greenville College Men's
Cross Country
Greenville College Women's
Cross Country
Greenville College Athletics
Coach Brian Patton
Last updated: July
17, 2001
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