From: Jeff Febus (jfebus@calvin.edu)
Date: Sat Nov 16 2002 - 16:03:47 EST
CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2002
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
LIMA, OH -- Neither rain, sleet, snow or mud could keep the nationally-ranked
Calvin men's and women's cross country teams from claiming Great Lakes Regional
titles Saturday afternoon. Despite adverse weather conditions, both teams
sparkled at the regional meets hosted by Ohio Northern University as the Calvin
men took first place with 39 points while the Calvin women claimed first place
with a total of 70 points.
For the Calvin men, the regional crown was their seventh straight including
their 14th in the last 16 years while the Calvin women claimed an unprecedented
14th straight regional title. Both teams now advance to the NCAA III
Championships next Saturday in Northfield, Minnesota. St. Olaf College will
serve as host.
Ranked fifth in the latest NCAA III National poll, the Calvin women's cross
country team knew that its regional championship streak was in peril with
ninth-ranked Baldwin-Wallace (OH) nipping at its heels. Calvin responded to the
challenge, finishing 17 points ahead of Baldwin-Wallace in Saturday's 6K race as
several Knights came up with clutch performances. The race also marked the first
year that the regional meet has been run at a 6K distance after having
previously been run at a 5K distance. One of the most heroic efforts came from
freshman Camille Medema (Grand Rapids Christian HS) who came up with a time of
23:21 to finish 27th individually and serve as Calvin's all-important fifth
runner.
Calvin was led by junior Jessie Lair (Southfield Christian HS) who placed second
in 21:58, 11 seconds behind Lisa Nicholson of Anderson who captured her third
straight Great Lakes Regional individual title. Also finishing in the top 10
for the Knights was junior Sarah Hastings (Traverse City Central HS) in sixth
place (22:26) while senior Jodi VerMeulen (Holland Christian HS) was 14th
(23:05) and senior Tami VerMeulen 21st (23:11). Rounding out Calvin's finishers
were seniors Sarah Tinholt (Kalamazoo Christian HS) and Laura Scholma-Medema
(Grand Rapids Christian HS) with Tinholt finishing 55th (24:02) and
Scholma-Medema 58th (24:04).
Lair, Hastings, Tami and Jodi VerMeulen and Camille Medema were all named to the
Great Lakes All-Region team.
"We were just ecstatic with our finish today," said Calvin women's cross country
coach Nancy Meyer. "Our regional championship streak was in serious jeopardy
because we knew Baldwin-Wallace would push us to the limit. We responded and
kept our tradition alive. The mental focus of our team despite the weather
conditions was incredible. The big difference in our finish was the performance
of our 3-4-5 runners. They came through with clutch races."
In the men's 8K race, Calvin breezed its way to first place as the Knights
placed five runners in the top 15 with sophomore Hendrik Kok (Lynden, WA)
leading the pack with a first place individual finish of 24:49. Mount Union
took second in the team standings wtih 68 points. The first place individual
finish by Kok marked the third straight year a Calvin men's cross country runner
has claimed the Great Lakes Region individual title including the eighth time in
Calvin men's cross country history.
Also cracking the top 10 for Calvin was sophomore Brian Maat (Holland Christian
HS) who was sixth in 25:08, junior Kris Koster (Grand Rapids Christian HS) who
took eighth in 25:11 and sophomore David Haagsma (South Christian HS) who was
10th in 25:22. Koster ran the bulk of Saturday's race with one shoe as a muddy
section of the course sucked off one of his shoes one mile into the race.
Rounding out Calvin's finishers were junior Brian Paff (National City, CA) in
14th place (25:34), junior Tim Avery (Rochester , NY) in 25th (25:46) and
sophomore Jeff Engbers (Whitinsville, MA) in 31st (26:02).
All seven Calvin runners were named to the Great Lakes All-Region team.
"We had an excellent performance," said Calvin men's cross country coach Brian
Diemer. "Our team was very focused heading into the race and we maintained our
focus despite very nasty running conditions. Kris Koster was a perfect example
of that focus. He had to run about 80 percent of the race with a bare foot
through snow, water and mud and he did not let it affect him. That race was
probably the best of his career and was impressive to watch. We're starting to
peak at the right time and we're looking to step it up another notch next week."
The Calvin men's cross country team will be making its 18th team appearance at
the NCAA III Championships next Saturday which ranks among the top 10 in NCAA
III men's cross country history. On the women's side, Calvin will be making its
14th team appearance at nationals which also ranks among the top 10 in NCAA III
women's cross country history.
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