RECORD BREAKING 4X4 WITH CHICK-FIL-A
(Left to Right) Brandon Tress, Justin Hoffman, Michael Beight and Sammy Starr after their record breaking 4x4 complete with Chick-fil-A baton as presented by Dan Cathy at the Cedarville University 2010 commencement ceremony. Photo Courtesy of Justin Hoffman
by Public Relations
July 28, 2010
Shortly after 3 of the 4-man team walked across the stage at Cedarville University’s 2010 commencement ceremony, Brandon Tress, Justin Hoffman, Michael Beight and Sammy Starr celebrated their record-breaking race in Louisville, Ken., complete with the baton from a memorable graduation.
On May 1, Cedarville’s commencement speaker, Dan Cathy, president of Chick-Fil-A® Inc., offered each graduate a silver baton as an allegory encouraging them to continue living in God’s Word: "Graduates, I just want to encourage you not to drop that baton." The runners were so thrilled by the track reference in Cathy’s speech that they took his words literally, all the way to Louisville and the winning record.
Graduates Michael, Brandon and Sammy had been running together as a 4x4 team throughout their entire college track careers and this was one of their last chances to break the school record set in 1975 as they wrapped up their last spring track season. As the race progressed, each team member ran a personal record for a combined time of 3:12.47, crushing the held record by nearly 3 seconds.
"We knew we had a good chance at the old school record," says Michael Beight, the third runner. "But we also knew we would have to run really well for this to happen. On a good day, three of the four athletes will run well. All four running well? Happens every once in a while. All four athletes running their absolute best on the same day?" He laughed. "Maybe in the movies."
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University attracts 3,200 undergraduate, graduate, and online students to more than 100 areas of study. Cedarville is a Christ-centered learning community recognized nationally for rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and leading student satisfaction ratings. Visit the University online at www.cedarville.edu.