CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2001
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
ROCK ISLAND, IL * Under late September skies, the nationally-ranked Calvin men's and women's cross country teams rolled to a pair of huge performances at the Brissman Lundeen national invitational hosted by Augustana College. Friday's competition was held at the Highland Springs Golf Course * site of this year's NCAA III Championships November 17.
In the women's competition, fourth-ranked Calvin proved worthy of its lofty ranking as it captured first place with an impressive score of 51 points, placing five runners in the top 14 including seven in the top-34. Eighth-ranked Wartburg (IA) and fifth-ranked Luther (IA) tied for second with 109 points. In the men's competition, third-ranked Calvin also proved worthy of its national ranking as it placed second with 90 points, finishing just three points behind second-ranked North Central (IL). DePauw took third with 201 points.
In the women's race, Calvin featured a dominating pack performance as just 18 seconds separated its top five runners. Senior Erinn Boot (Kalamazoo Christian) was the leader of the Knight pack, placing fifth individually with a time of 18:04. Junior Rachel Baber (Brandon, WI) was Calvin's second finisher, placing ninth in 18:16 while sophomores Jessie Lair (West Bloomfield) and Sarah Hastings (Traverse City) were 11th (18:19) and 12th (18:20) respectively. Senior Laura Medema (Grand Rapids Christian) came up with one of the finest performances of her collegiate career, finishing 14th in 18:21 to round out Calvin's top-five. Senior Lindsay Carrier (Tri-unity Christian) was 21st (18:31) and freshman Ashley Berner (Littleton, CO) 35th (19:00) to round out Calvin's top-seven.
"Heading into this race, we weren't exactly sure if we were worthy of our national ranking," said Calvin women's cross country coach Nancy Meyer. "I think we found out today that we can run with some of the top teams in the country which is huge confidence boost for our team. We were looking to use this race as a stepping-stone forward and we did just that."
In the men's race, Calvin placed six runners in the top-40 including two in the top-10. Senior Justin Pfruender (Midland) was the Calvin leader, placing fifth with a time of 25:07, finishing just nine seconds behind invitational winner Jeremy Borling of North Central. Senior Dan Hoekstra (Kalamazoo Christian) came in on the heels of Pfruender, finishing seventh with a time of 25:08. Senior Joel Klooster (Chatham, ON) came up with his best race of the year to finish as Calvin's third man, placing 16th with a time of 25:22. Sophomore David Haagsma (South Christian) and freshman Brian Maat (Holland Christian) also came up with their best performances of the year to round out Calvin's top-five as Haagsma was 30th (25:39) and Matt 32nd (25:42). Sophomore Tim Avery was the next Calvin finisher, placing 39th in 25:51 while senior David Ritsema (Denver, CO) closed out Calvin's top-seven, finishing 51st in 26:03.
"We took a huge leap forward this afternoon," said Calvin men's cross country coach Brian Diemer. "In order to compete for one of the top spots at the national meet in November, we have to keep closing our time gap and we did that in strong fashion today. We received tremendous senior leadership this afternoon and our young guys really stepped up. I'm excited with our performance. The challenge now is to keep the train moving forward."
Both Calvin teams return to action next Friday when they compete at the prestigious Notre Dame Invitational.
Women's Cross Country
Brissman Lundeen Invitational
At Rock Island, Illinois (Highland Springs Golf Course
Team Scores (top 20)
Calvin 51
Wartburg 109
Luther 109
Nebraska Wesleyan 140
Washington U 140
St. Olaf 192
Puget Sound 241
DePauw 248
Loras 249
Elmhurst 260
Augustana 283
Wheaton 303
Chicago 361
Central 364
Illinois Wesleyan 385
Greenville 419
Hope 438
Coe 487
North Central 489
Graceland 561
Calvin Finishers
5. Erinn Boot , 18:04
9. Rachel Baber, 18:16
11. Jessie Lair, 18:11
12. Sarah Hastings, 18:20
14. Laura Medema, 18:21
21. Lindsay Carrier, 18:31
35. Ashley Berner, 18:59,
37. Tami VerMeulen, 19:02
38. Mimi Speyer, 19:06
41. Sarah Crowe, 19:07
49. Leah Cornell, 19:10
77. Melinda VanKirk, 19:28
79. Jodi VerMeulen, 19:33
88. Kris Lumkes, 19:38
134. Katie VanBeek, 19:56
145. Tracey Diephuis, 20:01
146. Elise Elzinga, 20:01
(414 runners total)
MEN'S COLLEGE CROSS COUNTRY
Brissman Lundeen Invitational
At Augustana College (Highland Springs Golf Course)
TEAM SCORES (Top 20)
North Central 87
Calvin 90
DePauw 201
Hamline 209
Augustana 225
Chicago 231
MIT 235
Washington 240
Nebraska Wesleyan 246
Greenville 248
Puget Sound 267
Elmhurst 278
Loras 282
Wisconsin-Platteville 284
Grinnell 304
Wartburg 380
Hope 443
Luther 458
Illinois Wesleyan 607
Wheaton 635
Calvin Finishers
5. Justin Pfruender 25:07
7. Dan Hoekstra 25:08
16. Joel Klooster 25:22
30. David Haagsma 25:39
32. Brian Maat 25:41
39. Tim Avery 25:51
51. David Ritsema 26:03
62. Andy Yazzie 26:12
77. Joel Reasoner 26:20
93. Abe Huyser-Honig 26:03
117. Matt Edwards 26:45
129. Jeff Engbers 26:50
131. Mark Lubbers 26:51
138. Kris Koster 26:55
142. Aaron Iverson 26:57
181. Peter Armstrong 27:23
225. Brian Paff 27:54
(471 runners)
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