2006-07 Season News(Click on story heading to read story)
Six Jet's Earn All-Conference
Oct. 21, 2006
Six Newman runners were named to the Heartland Conference All-Conference team on Saturday in Billings, MT. Three Newman men were named to the first team: Blake Henry who finished second, Nick Bell who was sixth and Nick Abbott who placed ninth. Newman also had two honorable mention honorees in Nate Bell (11th) and Andrew Shahan (14th). On the women side Melissa Ortiz finished second, Camille Johnson was fourth and Christina Bair placed 10th.
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Newman Men Win Heartland Conference Meet
Oct. 21, 2006
Had they been eligible, the Newman men’s cross country team would have won the Heartland Conference meet on Saturday in Billings, Mont.
The Jets, who are in their first year as an NCAA Division II school, can’t officially be awarded the league title because of its provisional status. But they easily won the meet, scoring 42 team points. St. Edwards, who will be named the official league champion, scored 61. Dallas Baptist, the pre-season favorite, scored 71 points to finish third.
“It’s very exciting to have the team run as well as they did,” coach Josh Schepis said. “It was kind of tough to know that you could win and wouldn’t get the trophy, but it showed a lot of character for the kids to run the way they did. They know they are the conference champions.”
While Newman can’t be awarded the league title, its runners can earn All-Heartland Conference honors. Three Newman men were named to the first team: Blake Henry who finished second, Nick Bell who was sixth and Nick Abbott who placed ninth. Newman also had two honorable mention honorees in Nate Bell (11th) and Andrew Shahan (14th).
The Newman women placed second at the meet. Host Montana State-Billings won the league title with 52 points while Newman had 72 points. The Jets had three runners in the top 10 to earn All-Heartland Conference honors. Melissa Ortiz finished second, Camille Johnson was fourth and Christina Bair placed 10th.
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Men’s team scores
- Newman * 42
- St. Edwards 61
- Dallas Baptist 71
- Incarnate Word 74
- Montana State-Billings 91
- Panhandle State 173
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Women’s team scores
- Montana State-Billings 52
- Newman University* 72
- Incarnate Word 76
- St. Marys 86
- Dallas Baptist 112
- Lincoln (Mo.) 115
- St. Edwards 191
- Panhandle State (Okla.) 201
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Jets have fast day at Mid-States Classic
Oct. 13, 2006
Newman Cross-Country runners Melissa Ortiz and Blake Henry both set school records Friday while running in the Mid-States Classic in Winfield, hosted by Southwestern College. Ortiz broke her own record for the second time this season, running the 5,000-meter course in a time of 19:00 (16th).Henryran 25:48 (15th) to break the men’s record that had been set by Rujelio Macias (26:03) at the Oklahoma State meet in 2003.
Two other women ran their personal bests as well: Camille Johnson finished in 19:41(46th), and Christina Bair finished in20:14 (66th). The teamfinished 17th of 27 teams competing, gaining some confidence entering the Heartland Conference Meet in Billings, Mont. next weekend.
The men's team also posted several personal records, the most significant being senior Nick Bell, who ran a career best 26:41 (47th).Nick Abbott (70th)and Andrew Shahan (85th) also ran their best times of the year in helping the Jets post a 13th place finish out of 25 teams competing.
In all, seven Newman men ran their best times of the year. Coach Josh Schepis was pleased with his team’s performance.
"This comes at a great time with conference coming up," Schepis said. "We ran hard and training is tapering to run fast at the right time of the year."
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Jets Named Conference Athlete of the Week
Blake Henry and Melissa Ortiz have been named Heartland Conference Athletes of the week. These are the first Newman University athlete to receive this honor. Click here to see press release.  Heartland Sports
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Ortiz & Henry Lead Jets
The Newman cross country teams ran at the Oklahoma State Jamboree in Stillwater on Saturday September 30th. Freshman Melissa Ortiz broke the school record with a time of 19:48 over 5K. The previous recordhad beenset by teammate Camille Johnson just three weeks ago at the Friends Invitational at Lake Afton.
Ortiz finished 21st in the college women's race, while Johnson was 25th in a time of 19:53. With two runners in the top 25, the Newman women finished 18th of 30 teams in the race. The Newman men finished 11th of 28 teams, paced by Blake Henry, who was 21st in the college division race in a time of 26:57. Overall, three Jet runners earned meet awards and the men's team had their best Jamboree finish ever.
Complete results are available at www.okstate.com
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Newman runs at Notre Dame
The Newman Cross Country teams ran at the 2006 National Catholic Cross Country Championships on Friday, held on the University of Notre Dame campus in South Bend, Ind.
The men finished 24th of 31 teams overall and were 14th of the 19 NCAA Division II teams in the race. Blake Henry led Newman, finishing 11th individually. Nick Bell placed 65th and Nate Bell was 72nd in the race that contained more than 140 runners.
The Newman women placed 18th of 23 teams. Camille Johnson placed 18th to lead the Newman women. Melissa Ortiz finished 42nd. The women's race featured 202 athletes.
Newman is next in action in two weeks, when they run at Oklahoma State.
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Two for Two
Another meet, another record falls for the Newman Cross Country team. Camille Johnson continued her assault on the record book, breaking the 5000 meter record at the Friends University Invitational Friday. Her time of 19:57 bested the old record by 24 seconds.
“I’m looking forward to going even faster at the next meet,” said Johnson. “The field at Notre Dame is very competitive and I hear the course is flat and fast.”
Melissa Ortiz just missed breaking the old record as well, turning in a time of 20:22 in her first official race as a Jet. Overall the team finished fourth out of 12 teams competing. Also scoring for the Jets was Christina Bair, Stacy Guzman, Courtney Silsby, Alana Prahm and Katie Klausmeyer. Lyndsie Purdy competed unattached and turned in a fine time of 22:03.
The men’s team also turned in a fine performance, lead by Blake Henry’s 6th place overall finish. His time of 27:11 was a personal best in the 8000 meters and places him third all time on the Newman individual finishers list. The team also had strong performances once again from brothers Nate and Nick Bell as well as Andrew Shahan.
“The men’s team would benefit a great deal from the return of Nick Abbott,” said head coach Josh Schepis. “I’ve got all these guys running great races, but we really miss having our number one runner from last year out there.” Abbott is struggling with a hamstring injury that he just can’t seem to shake.
“The Bell brothers are having a great season and Blake Henry has been running lights out so far this year,” said Schepis. “Even Andrew Shahan stepped up last meet and ran a little more like he’s capable of doing. We’re either going to have to have someone else rise to the challenge, or get Abbott back at close to 100% by our conference meet.”
The men’s team finished 5th overall, missing 3rd place by only six points. Also competing for the team was David Young and Michael Baggett.
The teams travel to South Bend, Indiana this Friday to compete at the Catholic University’s National Championship meet, held on the University of Notre Dame’s campus.
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New Jet Sets Newman Record
The Newman Cross Country teams got off to a record breaking start this season. Junior college transfer Camille Johnson began her Newman career by breaking the school record in the 3200 meter run. Johnson’s time of 12:20 shatters the old mark by over 80 seconds. "I was pretty happy with that mark," said Johnson. "The course was a little slow, so I think my times will be even better later this season."Johnson finished 9th in the meet receiving a medal for her efforts. Also competing in the meet for the women were Christina Bair, Lyndsie Purdy, Melissa Ortiz (unattached), Courtney Silsby, Alana Prahm and Katie Klausmeyer. The Mens' team also got off to a good start with a fine performance turned in by Blake Henry, Nick Bell, and Nate Bell. Even though Henry didn’t quite hit his target time, he still managed to bring home a medal and a top ten finish. Overall the mens' team finished 5th out of 10 teams. Many of the runners were at or better than their targeted times. Also competing for the men were: Andrew Shahan, David Young, Nick Abbott, Michael Baggett and Paul Reifschneider (unattached).
"Overall I was pleased with the teams’ performance," said head coach Josh Schepis. "Our mens' team was right about where I thought they’d be. Our girls are right on the edge of having a great season, if we can get a couple key runners back and contributing."
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