April 29, 2001
TRACK AND FIELD
The Hillsdale Relays proved to be a landmark competition for the Calvin men's
and women's track and field teams as the two squads combined for one of the most
dominant weekends in Calvin track and field history Friday and Saturday.
Over the course of the weekend, the two teams combined for 18 NCAA III
provisional or automatic qualifying efforts while also establishing two new
Calvin records as well as three meet records. In addition, Calvin senior Megan
Pierce of Fort Wayne, Indiana was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the
women's meet.
WOMEN'S RECAP
Pierce became the second Calvin female athlete to receive Most Outstanding
Performer honors at the Hillsdale Relays as she captured first place in the 200
and 400 meters while running legs on Calvin's first place 4 x 100 and 4 x 400
meter relay teams. Pierce joins 1997 Calvin graduate Betsy Haverkamp-Frens as
one of two Calvin women's track and field athletes to be named Most Outstanding
Performer at the Hillsdale Relays.
Pierce took first place in the 200 meters with a school record and NCAA III
automatic qualifying time of 24.72 and then took first place in the 400 meters
with a meet-record and NCAA III automatic qualifying time of 54.37. Her time in
the 400 is the fastest time recorded in Division III women's track and field
this spring. In the 4 x 100 meter relay, Pierce combined with freshman Dana
Haan (Lynden, WA), junior Lindsay Mulder (Calvin Christian), and junior Rachel
Veltkamp (Grand Rapids Christian) to clock in with a school record and NCAA III
automatic qualifying time of 47.30. The time is the second fastest time 4 x 100
meter relay team recorded this spring in Division III women's track and field.
Pierce then anchored Calvin's 4 x 400 meter relay team of junior Mindy Worst
(Grand Rapids Christian), senior Sara Veltkamp (Grand Rapids Christian) and
Mulder to a meet record and NCAA III automatic qualifying time of 3:46.64. The
time is the fastest 4 x 400 meter relay time recorded in Division III women's
track and field this spring. In addition, Calvin's 4 x 400 meter 'B' relay team
of sophomore Annie VanderLaan (Grand Rapids Christian), Haan, junior Mandy
Gretzinger (Ludington) and sophomore Molly Delcamp (Columbus, OH) took fifth
with an NCAA III provisional qualifying time of 3:56.73.
Mulder also had a huge weekend as she took second place in the 400 meters with
an NCAA III automatic qualifying time of 56.54, establishing a new career-best
by nearly a full second. In addition, the Calvin Christian High School graduate
took third in the long jump with an NCAA III automatic qualifying mark of 18-10.
Haan also came up with a career-best effort in the 200 meters, taking eight
place with a time of 25.61.
In the 5,000 meters, junior Lindsay Carrier (Tri-unity Christian) took fourth
with a career-best and NCAA III provisional qualifying time of 17:44.40.
Running unattached, Haverkamp-Frens took first place in the event with a meet
record time of 16:25.40. Carrier also just missed an NCAA III provisional
qualifying time in the 3,000 meters as she took second with a career-best time
of 10:20.60. Junior Laura Medema (Grand Rapids Christian) was close behind
Carrier as she took third with a career-best time of 10:21.10 in the 3K. In the
10,000 meters, Calvin freshman Jessie Lair (West Bloomfield) took fifth in the
10,000 meters with a career-best time of 38:08.53 that was less than a second
short of an NCAA III provisional qualifying time.
VanderLaan also took sixth in the 400 meter hurdles with an NCAA III provisional
qualifying time of 1:04.70. Her performance came a day after she had completed
a grueling two-day heptathlon competition which saw her post a strong NCAA III
provisional qualifying score of 4,265 points. VanderLaan's heptathlon total is
the sixth-best in Division III women's track and field this spring and came in
her first-ever heptathlon competition. VanderLaan was part of a strong Calvin
contingent in the 400 hurdles as Gretzinger took 11th with a career-best time of
1:06.50 while Declamp was 12th in 1:06.50.
Another highlight for the Calvin women came in the discus as junior Beth
VanderHeide (McBain Christian) took seventh with a mark of 131-5. VanderHeide's
effort matched the old Calvin women's discus record established by Sara
Zuiderveen in 1996. VanderHeide is the third Calvin thrower this spring to
match or break Zuiderveen's record as freshman Jaime Febo (Sparta) and Katie
Corner (Catholic Central) have already surpassed the mark this spring.
MEN'S RECAP
Calvin's distance runners ran wild at the Hillsdale Relays, recording five NCAA
III automatic or provisional qualifying times. Junior Dan Hoekstra (Kalamazoo
Christian) came up with a monster effort in the 10,000 meters with a 12th place
and NCAA III automatic qualifying time of 30:27.0. Hoekstra's time is the
fastest 10,000 meter time in Division III men's track and field this spring.
Hoekstra led a quartet of Calvin standouts in the 10K Friday night as senior
Paul Petersen (Crawfordsville, IN) was close behind, finishing 13th with an NCAA
III automatic qualifying time of 30:45.90. In addition, junior Justin
Momany-Pfruender (Midland) was 17th with a strong NCAA III provisional
qualifying time of 31:02.8 while junior Cameron Harrison (Colorado Springs, CO)
also had a a strong NCAA III provisional qualifying time as he took 20th in
31:06.60.
Perhaps the biggest story of the meet for the Calvin distance crew was the
performance of junior David Ritsema (Denver, CO) as the tall and lanky red-head
powered his way to a fourth place finish with a strong NCAA III provisional
qualifying time of 9:17.29. Ritsema's time is the third fastest steeplechase
time recorded in Division III men's track and field this spring. The
performance was an amazing 75 second drop from a year ago for Ritsema. Heading
into the 2001 season, Ritsema's best 3,000 meter steeplechase time had been
10:35.00.
Senior Kevin VerBeek (Lansing, IL) also came up with a huge effort in the 1,500
meters as he took fifth in with a career-best time of 3:57.20, missing an NCAA
III provisional qualifying time by less than a second. Freshman Dave Haagsma
(South Christian) also had an landmark performance in the 5,000 meters as he
clocked in with a career-best time of 14:59.45 that was two seconds short of an
NCAA III provisional qualifying time and was also good for 13th place at
Hillsdale.
Calvin's distance runners were not the only athletes to excel for the Knights
however as several sprinters and jumpers came up with big performances. In the
4 x 400 meter relay, Calvin's team of junior Keith Van Goor (Midland Park, NJ),
senior Mark DeWeerd (Unity Christian), sophomore Steve Abbring (Highland, IN)
and senior Phil Sikkenga (Wheaton, IL) took first place with an NCAA III
automatic qualifying and meet record time of 3:14.21.
Sikkenga also took first place in the 400 meters (48.49) and third in the 200
meters (21.80). VanGoor was also third in the 400 meters with a time of 48.90.
In the high jump, Calvin took first and fourth place behind NCAA III provisional
qualifying efforts from senior Derek Kleinheksel (Hamilton) and sophomore
Cameron Baron (Lake Stevens, WA) as both individuals cleared the bar at 6-8.
Both Calvin track and field teams will now prepare for the MIAA Championships
May 4 and 5 at Hope College. The Calvin women will be seeking their 12th
consecutive MIAA title while the Calvin men will be going after their eight
straight MIAA title.
-end-
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