MAY 25, 2002 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Calvin Men’s Track & Field Team Takes 2nd Place at NCAA III Championships
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA – A “fantastic foursome” propelled the Calvin men’s track
and field team to its best-ever national team finish Saturday afternoon at the
NCAA III Track & Field Championships hosted by Macalester College as the Knights
earned national runner-up honors with a school-record point total of 41 points.
Calvin’s second place point total was two points ahead of third place Lincoln
(PA) and 21 points behind national champion Wisconsin-LaCrosse. The second
place finish is the second-ever top national finish by the Calvin men’s track
and field team.
Heading into the second-to-last event – the 5,000 meter run, Calvin sat in fifth
place with 22 points but fueled by an NCAA III record four All-America
performances in the 5K, Calvin picked up 19 points and vaulted into second
place. Senior Joel Klooster of Chatham, Ontario, helped lead the way for Calvin
in the 5,000 meters as he just missed an individual national title, finishing
second with a time of 14.51.68, three-tenths of a second behind champion J.B.
Haglund of Haverford College who also edged out Klooster for the national title
in the 10,000 meters Thursday night. Klooster was followed by sophomore
teammate Hendrik Kok of Lynden, Washington, who placed third in 14:53.77 while
Calvin senior Justin Pfruender (Midland, MI) was sixth in 14:55.06 and senior
teammate Dan Hoekstra (Kalamazoo Christian High School) seventh in 14:55.19 to
complete the Calvin All-America quartet.
The All-America performances were the second of the national meet for all four
individuals as Klooster and Hoekstra had finished second and sixth in the 10,000
meters respectively on Thursday night, Pfruender had taken third in the 3,000
meter steeplechase Friday night and Kok had taken sixth in the 1,500 meters with
a time of 3:52.81 earlier on Saturday afternoon. Combined the quartet marked
the fifth, sixth, seventh and eight time in Calvin men’s track and field history
that a distance runner had earned multiple All-America certificates in one
national meet.
“What an unbelievable finish we had today,” said Calvin distance coach Brian
Diemer. “It’s one thing to go out and run a national qualifying time in the
middle of the season and it’s another thing to really seal the deal at the
national meet. This group definitely sealed the deal.”
According to fellow Calvin distance coach Al Hoekstra, the performance was
consistent for the Calvin distance group. “The thing about this group,
particularly the seniors, is that they have always found a way to get things
done when the stakes were high,” said Hoekstra. “That 5,000 meter performance
was one of the best clutch performances I have ever witnessed at a national
meet. We went from fifth to second place in the second-to-last event of the day
and it took all four individuals to do it.”
The All-America efforts were part of six on Saturday afternoon for the Calvin
men as senior Keith VanGoor of Midland Park, New Jersey, also took seventh in
the 200 meter run with a time of 21.79. The finish by VanGoor was extremely
valuable for the Knights said head Calvin track and field coach Jong-Il Kim. “I
am so happy to see Keith finish his career as an All-American,” said Kim. “The
two points he scored in the event also helped us to finish in second place. It
was a total group effort that helped our team finish in second place and when I
say that, I also include the entire coaching staff and the rest of our athletes.
The support they provided throughout the year was unbelievable and we are just
thrilled to finish in second place as a team.”
In the women’s competition, Calvin came up with All-America performances in the
4 x 100 and 4 x 400 meter relay events on Saturday to finish in 12th place with
18 points in the final team standings, recording its 10th consecutive top-20
national finish.
In the 4 x 100 meter relay, the Calvin team of senior Rachel Veltkamp (Grand
Rapids Christian), freshman Sue Abbring (Highland, IN), senior Mindy Worst
(Grand Rapids Christian) and junior Annie VanderLaan (Grand Rapids Christian)
took fifth place with a time of 47.54, recording All-America honors in the event
for the second straight year and for the fourth time in school history. In the
4 x 400 meter relay, the Calvin squad of Worst, Abbring, VanderLaan and freshman
Laura Hamilton (Downers Grove, IL) took fourth with a season-best time of
3:47.94, marking the fourth consecutive year that Calvin has earned All-America
accolades in the event and the sixth time in Calvin women’s track and field
history. Seeded fourth heading into Saturday’s final, Calvin took the lead
heading into the final lap after an amazing third leg by VanderLaan but
top-seeded Wheaton of Massachusetts was able to pass Calvin with 200 meters to
go and in the final 10 meters, Nebraska Wesleyan and Wartburg College (IA)
passed Calvin, nipping the Knights by six-tenths and two-tenths of a second
respectively. Wheaton (MA) took first with a time of 3:44.48.
“I did not expect our 4 x 400 meter relay team to challenge for the national
title like it did but that is a credit to the fou individuals on the team,” said
Kim who was named National Coach of the Year by the United States Track and
Field Coaches Association Wednesday night. “Two of the members of the relay
team were very young and Annie VanderLaan was running in the 4 x 400 at the
nationals for the first time. They were just great though and they exceeded my
expectations. The relay team has a chance to be even better next year.”
Wheaton of Massachusetts also claimed its second consecutive team title in the
women’s competition, finishing with 67 points while McMurry (TX) was second with
49 points, Williams (MA) was third with 44 points and Wisconsin-LaCrosse fourth
with 38 points.
Amber James of Wheaton was named the Most Valuable Runner of the women’s meet
while Darcell Edwards of McMurry was named the Most Valuable Field Performer.
In the men’s competition, Haglund was named the Most Valuable Runner while Craig
Neeley of Ohio Wesleyan was named the Most Valuable Field Performer. Another
notable performance came in the men’s 4 x 400 meter relay as Central College of
Iowa came from out of a four seed in the preliminaries to capture its third
straight national title in the finals Saturday afternoon, winning with a time of
3:10.05, edging Lincoln’s 4 x 400 meter relay team that finished second with a
time of 3:10.32.
Together, the Calvin men’s and women’s track and field teams combined for 13
All-America performances at the national meet this weekend. Hope sophomore
Jennifer Price and Albion sophomore Nicholas Morgan also garnered All-America
honors on Saturday as Price was seventh in the 800 meters with a time of 2:12.32
while Morgan finished eighth in the men’s 110 high hurdles with a time of 15.05.
For the Calvin men, Dan Hoekstra closed out his distance career as a seven-time
All-American, receiving All-America honors twice in cross country and five times
in track and field. Pfruender finished his distance career as a six-time
All-American, receiving the honor three times in cross country and three times
in track and field. The All-America performance by VanGoor in the 200 meters
was also the fourth All-America effort of his track and field career. In the
women’s competition, Worst closed out her track and field career with four
All-America certificates while Veltkamp finished her track and field career with
three.
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