DISTANCE RUNNERS
OF THE MONTH
May


Corey Mehl

Senior at
 Bellefontaine High School
Bellefontaine High School logo

P.R. 's
Cross Country 16:18
Track 4:22 (1600)
  1:58 (800)
Advice "Forget what is behind and strive for what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me!"
Favorite Shoe Asics 

College Choice
University of Charleston

 
 "Mehl the CBC's Chief Runner!"

     
     CBC track coaches will be glad to see Bellefontaine's Corey Mehl graduate.  The senior recently collected his fourth consecutive CBC 1600 meter title.  He also took home some more hardware with his second 800 meter title and helped the Chiefs win the conference 3200 relay title for the fourth consecutive year.  
     Bellefontaine's distance and cross country coach Ben Davis received a valuable gift when the Mehl's moved in from Georgia before Corey's freshmen year.  After a strong track season in junior high, Davis and his assistants began recruiting Corey to join the Chief's cross country team.  "I decided to give cross a try after junior high," said Corey.  "I got to run with some good teams."  During Mehl's freshmen and sophomore campaigns the Chiefs finished in the top 10 both years at the state meet (2nd-01& 8th-02).
     Corey's sophomore track season was even better than cross country.  The Bellefontaine's boys track team won the Dayton regional.  Corey qualified in the 800, 1600, and as a member of the 4x800 team.  At state, Mehl collected All-Ohio medals in the 1600 (8th) and the 4x800 (7th).
     Mehl and Chiefs were shut out his junior season from the state cross country and track meets.  Corey and his teammates spent the summer training and attending team functions together.  "Coach Davis has us running around 40 miles per week.  We also do a lot of things together as a team."  The various team functions range from training runs to the local ice cream store to a fantasy football league.
     The work over the summer paid off.  Mehl finished 4th at the regional cross country meet and 33rd at the state meet.  He decided to train for track season instead playing basketball this past winter.  The extra work helped Mehl dominate the CBC meet and qualify him for regionals in the 800 and the 1600.
     Corey will continue his running career at the University of Charleston in West Virginia.  He will run cross country and track for the Golden Eagles and plans on majoring Athletic Administration.  Good luck Corey.


 
Elisabeth Pyles
Senior at
Cedarville High School
PR's
Track 11:21 (3200)  5:23 (1600)
Advice "I can do everything through him who gives me strength!"
Favorite Shoe Addidas
   

College Choice
Cedarville College


"Indians Find Two Mile Gem!"

     When Cedarville’s Elisabeth Pyles started running track in junior high she never envisioned her name would be atop the school record books in the 3200.  “I started running track as a 400 and 800 runner,” she said.  “I never really thought about the 3200.”  That was true until her junior year.  The Indians’ track coach Connie Cain talked Pyles into running a longer distance.  She responded with a 12:16 in her first try at the event.  “My coach and I decided since I was only 15 seconds from the school record (12:01) that I would try it this year,” she said.
     It didn’t take long for Pyles to get those 15 seconds and more.  In mid April Pyles smashed the old mark running an 11:42 at the Fred Durkle Inv. at Twin Valley South.  Pyles and her coach set a new goal for the district meet.  “We thought I had a good chance to break the Dayton D-III District record, ” said Pyles.  Elisabeth dominated the field en route to a new district record time of 11:21, breaking future Cedarville University teammate and former Xenia Christian standout Jennifer McKellar’s mark of 11:33.
     Even more impressive is the fact that Elisabeth played basketball this winter for the lady Indians, which kept her from training for track season.  Pyles attributes much of her success to her family’s support and Coach Cain’s leadership.  “My coach has been with me all four years, so that has really helped,” she said.  Elisabeth hopes to eventually add to her state medal count.  She earned a medal as a member of 4x400 relay team that finished second in the state in 2003.
     Her recent explosion in the 3200 has caught the attention of local colleges including her hometown Cedarville University.  The Yellow Jackets, which boast one of the top NAIA cross country programs in the country, has already gobbled up another strong area runner.  Elisabeth will run cross country for the Jackets, a sport in which she's never competed.  Pyles has played volleyball in the fall for the past four years. Odds are the Jackets will have themselves another gem.   She also excels in the classroom sporting a 4.0 g.p.a. but is undecided on her college major.  Good luck Elisabeth!