Cedarville University Women's Track

Paul Orchard has been on staff at Cedarville University since 1993 and served as the head men’s cross country coach since 2003. He was the head track & field coach during his first ten seasons with the Yellow Jackets and is currently one of the program’s assistant coaches working with the distance runners.   Cedarville Men’s Cross Country Coaching Career: NCCAA National Champions (2010, 2015, 2019) Three-time NCCAA National Coach of the Year Finished in NCCAA Top Three 15 times First Yellow Jacket coach to take a team to an NCAA Championship NCAA Division II Championship: 2012 (15th), 2013 (15th), 2018 (24th), 2021 (31st) NCAA Individual Qualifiers: Benjamin Tuttle (2015), Daniel Michalski (2017), Evan Leist (2022), Ramen Felumlee (2023), Isaiah Kelly (2023) G-MAC Champions (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) Four-time G-MAC Coach of the Year 2023 All-Ohio Champions Three NCAA Division II All-Americans: Matt Brooker, 28th (2013); Benjamin Tuttle, 16th (2015); Evan Leist, 37th (2022) Two Midwest Region individual champions: Matt Brooker (2013), Benjamin Tuttle (2015) NCAA Midwest Regional Top 10 nine times NAIA Top 25 (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) American Mideast Conference Runner-Up (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010) Cedarville Men’s Cross Country Honor Roll: 3 NCAA Division II All-Americans 1 NAIA All-American 2 NCCAA National Individual Champions 36 NCCAA All-Americans 3 CSC / CoSIDA Academic All-Americans® 8 NAIA Scholar-Athletes 87 NCCAA Scholar-Athletes 13 NCAA Division II All-Midwest Region runners 1 All-Ohio Intercollegiate Individual Champion 11 USTFCCCA Division II Scholar Teams 30 USTFCCCA Division II All-Academic runners 4 Conference Runners of the Year 4 Conference Individual Champions 2 Conference Freshmen of the Year 1 G-MAC Elite 26 Award recipient 77 All-Conference runners 179 Academic All-Conference Team   Cedarville NCAA Men's Track Distance Running: Daniel Michalski, 2017 NCAA Division II Steeplechase National Champion; 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier 13 NCAA Division II All-Americans (ten indoors; three outdoors) 17 Division II national qualifiers (13 individuals; two relays) Cedarville Head Track & Field Coaching Career: NCCAA Women Outdoor National Champions (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998) Five-time NCCAA Women’s Coach of the Year Mid-Ohio Conference Women’s Champions (1998) MOC Women’s Coach of the Year (1996, 1998) American Mideast Conference Men’s Champions (2001) AMC Men’s Coach of the Year (2001) Mid-Ohio Conference Men’s Champions (1994) MOC Men’s Coach of the Year (1994) Six NAIA National Individual Champions 112 NAIA All-America honors Orchard came to Cedarville after spending six years at the University of Akron from 1987-93. He served as an assistant coach for the Zips’ track and cross country programs plus coordinated all of their recruiting. He coached Akron’s horizontal jumpers and throwers including the school’s first-ever male Division I National Meet qualifier (javelin). Orchard is a 1983 graduate of Taylor University where he competed in track and cross country. He went on to teach and coach at the high school and middle school levels for two years. Orchard was later a graduate assistant at Miami University (Ohio) where he coached sprints and horizontal jumps highlighted by the 1986 Mid-American Conference team title. He also earned his master’s degree from the school in 1986. Paul and his wife, Wendy, have four sons and reside in Xenia.  

Jeff Bolender has been at Cedarville University since 2001 and has been the head coach of the Yellow Jacket men’s and women’s track & field teams since the 2004 season. He was named the head women’s cross country coach in December, 2009.   Cedarville Women’s Track & Field Coaching Career: NCCAA Indoor Champions (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) NCCAA Outdoor Champions (2007) 13-time NCCAA Track & Field Coach of the Year 2007 NAIA Outdoor National Runner-Up G-MAC Outdoor Champions (2015, 2016, 2017) G-MAC Indoor Champions (2016, 2017) Five-time G-MAC Track & Field Coach of the Year Cedarville Men’s Track & Field Coaching Career: NCCAA Indoor Champions (2006, 2007, 2020, 2025) NCCAA Outdoor Champions (2011) Six-time NCCAA Track & Field Coach of the Year G-MAC Outdoor Champions (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) G-MAC Indoor Champions (2015, 2016) Six-time G-MAC Coach of the Year   Cedarville Women’s Cross Country Coaching Career: NCCAA National Champions (2015, 2017, 2019) Three-time NCCAA National Coach of the Year G-MAC Champions (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023) Eight-time G-MAC Coach of the Year 2022, 2023, 2024 All-Ohio Intercollegiate Champions NCAA Division II Midwest Region Runner-Up (2016, 2022, 2023) 2016 USTFCCCA Division II Midwest Region Coach of the Year NCAA Division II Championship: 2016 (11th), 2021 (11th), 2022 (7th), 2023 (10th), 2024 (16th) 10th place at 2010 NAIA Championship in his first season - the program’s 11th straight Top 10 finish Cedarville Women’s Cross Country Honor Roll: 2 NCCAA National Champions; 18 NCCAA All-Americans 4 CSC / CoSIDA Academic All-Americans® 5 NAIA Scholar-Athletes; 121 NCCAA Scholar-Athletes 11 USTFCCCA Division II All-Academic Teams 16 USTFCCCA All-Region runners 2 All-Ohio Intercollegiate Champions 1 Ohio Division II / NAIA Runner of the Year 2 Ohio Division II / NAIA Freshmen of the Year 4 Conference Individual Champions; 4 Conference Freshmen of the Year 79 All-Conference runners; 227 Academic All-Conference Team runners A four-year track & cross country performer before graduating from Cedarville College in 1991, Bolender later spent five years at Mount St. Clare College in Clinton, Iowa. He developed the school's track and cross country programs, and he served as chair of the Physical Education Department. Prior to his tenure at Mount St. Clare, Bolender was a graduate assistant for two years at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He earned a Master of Science degree in education at the school in 1996. Bolender taught health and physical education at Maranatha Christian Schools in Columbus, Ohio from 1991 through 1994 and was promoted to the position of athletic director his final year. He commuted to Cedarville during his first two years at Maranatha to assist with the Yellow Jacket distance running program. Jeff and his wife, Sharie, who was an NCCAA All-America distance runner with the Lady Jackets, have three children and reside in Cedarville.  

Former Lady Jacket track and cross country athlete Katie (Lanphier) Ruhlman has been coaching the women’s track distance runners since the 2018 season. She joined the cross country program as an assistant coach in 2015. She continues to run competitively and qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta with her performance at the Chevron Houston Marathon. Collegiate Running Career: Four-year middle distance and distance runner for the Lady Jackets Seven-time NCCAA All-American on the track in the relay events Member of the 2012 NCCAA Indoor Championship quartets in the 4 x 400 and distance medley relays Part of foursomes that qualified for the NAIA Nationals in the 2010 Indoor DMR and 2009 Outdoor 4 x 400 Two-time American Mideast Conference champion in the 400 meter hurdles (2010) and the 4 x 400 meter relay (2009) Ran cross country her junior and senior seasons, and was CU’s #2 finisher in the 2010 NCCAA Championship NAIA and NCCAA Scholar-Athlete in both track and cross country The Cincinnati, Ohio native was a Dean’s List student while earning a nursing degree from CU in 2012. She also earned a master’s in nursing from the University in 2015. Katie and her husband, Kevin, reside in Centerville, Ohio with their son, Elijah.  

Scott returned to his alma mater after serving on staff at Hannibal-LaGrange University in Missouri. He was the Trojans assistant coach for cross country and track & field from 2009-13. Scott is the most decorated pole vaulter in the history of CU track & field. He was a two-time NAIA indoor national champion and won the outdoor title once during his career from 2004 through 2007. He was a five-time NAIA All-American in the event. The Clayton, Ohio native owns the top ten all-time Yellow Jacket marks indoors featuring the school record at 17-8.50. He has CUs top nine outdoor efforts including the school record at 17-1. Scott has remained competitive since graduation. He qualified for the 2009 and 2010 USA Indoor Championships placing as high as fourth. He also qualified for the 2010 Outdoor Championship. Scott earned a degree in exercise science from the University in 2007. He achieved a masters degree in sports coaching from the United States Sports Academy in 2011. Jason and his wife, Bethany (Davies), reside in Springfield with their son, Kade Farnsworth, who was born on May 30, 2014. Bethany is a 2009 CU graduate and was a five-time NAIA America sprinter for the Lady Jackets.  Jason Scott

Max Kittle has been the men’s and women’s track & field assistant coach at Cedarville University since the 2021-22 academic year. He is involved in every facet of the program with a coaching emphasis on the sprints and hurdles. Kittle joined the Yellow Jackets after serving as the assistant track & field coach at Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind. for four years. He coached the Lancers’ first women’s NAIA All-Americans (indoor 4 x 400), one NCCAA Track Athlete of the Year, ten NCCAA champions, and eight Crossroads League champion performers. Kittle was a graduate assistant track & field coach at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill. from 2015 to 2017. His work helped the Tigers develop a pair of men’s 4 x 400 NAIA All-America quartets - one indoors and one outdoors. The Algonquin, Ill. native was a decorated track & field athlete at Anderson University in Indiana where he was a five-time NCAA Division III All-American in the hurdles. Additionally, he was a four-time Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Track Athlete of the Year - twice indoors and twice outdoors. Kittle is a 2015 graduate of Anderson with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. He earned his master’s in business administration from Olivet Nazarene in 2017. Max and his wife, Sarah, reside in Xenia with their three children.