CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 26, 2001
NCAA III TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS (Final Report)
DECATUR, IL - Strong winds and heavy rain could not prevent the Calvin women's
track and field team from its best-ever national finish as the Knights finished
as national runner-ups at the NCAA III Track and Field Championships held
Saturday at Millikin University.
Calvin finished with a total of 49 points, recording its best-ever point total
at the national meet. Defending indoor national champion Wheaton College of
Massachusetts completed a clean sweep of the NCAA III Track and Field season,
capturing the outdoor title with 83.5 points. Calvin finished two points ahead
of defending outdoor national champion Lincoln University of Pennsylvania while
McMurry of Texas was fourth. It marked the fourth top-four national finish for
the Calvin women who had previously finished fourth twice and third once.
Strong winds and heavy rain caused a pair of 30-minute weather delays in
Saturday's copmetition.
On the men's side, Calvin finished in strong fashion as the Knights took fifth
in the final standings with 31.5 points. Wisconsin-LaCrosse captured the men's
national title with a total of 80 points. It marked the second consecutive
top-10 national finish for the Calvin men as they finished sixth a year ago.
In the women's competition, Calvin produced six All-America performances
Saturday including one national championship crown. Calvin's national
championship came in the 4 x 400 meter relay as the squad of junior Mindy Worst
(Grand Rapids Christian) and seniors Sara Veltkamp (Grand Rapids Christian),
Lindsay Mulder (Calvin Christian) and Megan Pierce (Fort Wayne, IN) took first
with a school record time of 3:43.24. It marked the third consecutive national
title for Calvin's 4 x 400 meter relay with its time rankings as the
third-fastest in NCAA III women's track and field history. The Calvin women's
track and field program has now produced five national championship relay
performances.
Bidding for her third consecutive national crown in the open 400 meters, Pierce
was nosed out for first place in the event by Wheaton's Amber James as Pierce
took second in 54.22 while James took first in 54.20. Pierce was one of an
unprecendented three Calvin All-Americans in the 400 meters as Veltkamp took
sixth (56.64) and Mulder seventh (56.68).
In addition, Calvin's 4 x 100 meter relay team of Mulder, Pierce, junior Rachel
Veltkamp (Grand Rapids Christian) and freshman Dana Haan (Lynden, WA) earned
All-America honors, taking fifth with a time of 47.66.
Calvin senior Andrea Rip (Bothell, WA) also produced an All-American effort in
the javelin as she took seventh with a throw of 133-0, becoming the third
individual in Calvin women's track and field history to earn All-America
accolades in the javelin.
Pierce, Mulder and Veltkamp closed out remarkable careers on Saturday with
Pierce finishing as a nine-time All-American and a five-time national champion;
Mulder finishing as an eight-time All-American and a four-time national champion
and Veltkamp finishing as a five-time All-American and a three-time national
champion.
Calvin women's track and field coach Ralph Honderd was extremely pleased with
his team's performance at the national meet.
"We were hoping to finish in the top-three as a team but we weren't sure if it
would happen because you never know what can happen at a national meet," said
Honderd. "I am just thrilled to finish as national runner-ups. It says a lot
about how hard our athletes have worked this year and it also says a lot about
our coaching staff. I really have to give our entire coaching staff a lot of
credit, particularly our men's coach Jong-Il Kim. Coach Kim has put in a lot of
work with the sprinters and jumpers on our women's team and really taken them to
the next level. I also can't say enough about the work that our javelin coach
Steve Seth has done with Andrea Rip. We have a group of eight coaches on our
staff and I truly believe that Calvin has the finest group of track and field
coaches in all of Division III track and field."
Junior Lindsay Carrier (Tri-unity Christian) also competed in the 5,000 meters,
finishing 20th in 18:10.16.
In the men's competition, Calvin nearly came up with a national championship
performance in the 4 x 400 meter relay as its team of junior Keith VanGoor
(Midland Park, NJ), sophomore Steve Abbring (Highland, IN), senior Eric Hansen
(Big Rapids) and senior Phil Sikkenga (Wheaton, IL) earned national runner-up
honors with a time of 3:10.62. Central College of Iowa edged Calvin for first
place in the relay for the second consecutive year as the Flying Dutch finished
six-hundreths of a second ahead of Calvin's relay team.
Sikkenga also earned All-America accolades in the 400 meters as he took third
with a time of 47.57. Sikkenga closes out his career as a seven-time
All-American, earning All-America honors three times in the 4 x 400 meter relay,
twice in the 110 high hurdles, and once in the 200 meters and 400 meters.
"Phil Sikkenga has been the cornerstone of our men's track and field team over
the past four years," said Calvin men's track and field coach Jong-Il Kim. "He
always gave his very best and never disappointed me. He is one of the finest
young men I have ever coached. He will make an even bigger contribution to
society further down the road."
The Calvin men also had a pair of All-Americans in the 5,000 meters as senior
Dan Hoekstra (Kalamazoo Christian) took eighth with a time of 15:04.01 while
junior Justin Momany-Pfruender (Midland) was seventh in 15:03.22. Foul weather
conditions rained down on the distance runners during the final four laps of the
race, slowing the pace considerably.
"I was a little concerned that our guys would get blown off the track," joked
Calvin distance coach Brian Diemer. "In all seriousness, I was very proud of
the way our guys ran under adverse conditions. Dan Hoekstra showed remarkable
determination two days after running to an All-American performance in the
10,000. Justin was also very tough. This was a crucial race for him
confidence-wise and he really came up big performance in a pressure situation.
Justin is a thin guy who was slowed up by the strong winds. It may have cost
him a couple of places but I'm extremely happy for him nonetheless."
Senior Paul Petersen (Crawfordsville, IN) also competed in the 5,000 meters,
finishing 13th in 15:17.16.
-end-
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