From: Jeff Febus (jfebus@calvin.edu)
Date: Wed Nov 20 2002 - 00:08:52 EST
CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 19, 2002
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
The Calvin men's and women's cross country teams will be headed back to familiar
territory this weekend as they compete at the NCAA III Championships hosted by
St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.
Ranked fourth in the final NCAA III poll of the year, released this afternoon,
the Calvin women's cross country team will be making its 14th team appearance at
the NCAA III Championships including its 14th consecutive appearance. Calvin is
sixth on the all-time NCAA III women's cross country list for team appearances
at the NCAA III Championships. A year ago, Calvin finished sixth at the NCAA
III Championships.
The Calvin men are ranked eighth in the final NCAA III poll of the year. The
poll was released this afternoon and allowed Calvin to move up one spot from its
placement a week ago. The Calvin men's cross country team will be making its
18th team appearance at the NCAA III Championships, ranking it seventh on the
all-time NCAA III men's cross country list for team appearances.
A year ago, the Calvin men's cross country team finished second at the NCAA III
Championships, marking its fourth consecutive top-four national finish. Over
the last four years, the Calvin men's cross country team has the best combined
team finish of any NCAA III men's cross country team as the Knights were second
in 1998, fourth in 1999, first in 2000 and second in 2001.
Representing the Calvin women's cross country team at the NCAA III Championships
will be seniors Laura Medema-Scholma (Grand Rapids Christian HS, Tami VerMeulen
(Holland Christian HS), Jodi VerMeulen (Holland Christian HS) and Sarah Tinholt
(Kalamazoo Christian HS), juniors Jessie Lair (Southfield Christian HS) and
Sarah Hastings (Traverse City Central HS) and freshmen Camille Medema (Grand
Rapids Christian HS) and Jen Walter (Sharon, MA).
Medema-Scholma, Lair and Hastings will be making their third trips to the NCAA
III Championships. Lair and Hastings posted their best individual finishes as
Lair was 57th and Hastings 72nd. Medema-Scholma's best finish also came in 2001
as she placed 147th. The remaining Calvin individuals will be making their
first appearances at nationals. This past Saturday Lair and Hastings cracked
the top 10 at the Great Lakes Regional meet with Lair taking second and Hastings
sixth. As a team, Calvin posted a first place total of 70 points to claim its
14th consecutive Great Lakes Regional title - all of which have come under the
helm of current head coach Nancy Meyer.
Williams (MA) is the top-ranked team in the final NCAA III women's cross country
poll while two-time defending national champion Middlebury is ranked second.
Geneseo State of New York is ranked third while Calvin is tied for fourth with
Wartburg of Iowa.
Representing the Calvin men's cross country team at the NCAA III Championships
will be senior Josh VanderWiele (Midland Park, NJ), juniors Kris Koster (Grand
Rapids Christian HS), Brian Paff (National City, CA) and Tim Avery (Rochester,
NY) and sophomores Brian Maat (Holland Christian HS, David Haagsma (South
Christian HS) Jeff Engbers (Whitinsville, MA) and Hendrik Kok (Lynden, WA).
Avery will be making his third straight appearance at the NCAA III Championships
while Maat and Koster will be making their second straight appearance. The
remainding Calvin individuals will be competing at the NCAA III Championships
for the first time. Avery came up with his best individual finish as a freshman
in 2000, placing 126th while Koster finished 100th in the same race. Maat
posted All-America honors in his first national appearance a year ago, finishing
12th individually. Kok was an All-American in track and field last year,
finishing sixth in the 1,500 meters and third in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA
III Championships. He is competing in his first season of cross country at
Calvin. At the Great Lakes Regional Championships last Saturday, Kok claimed an
individual regional crown last Saturday, placing first with a time of 24:49. 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.
Kok was one of three Calvin runners to crack the top 10 in Saturday's regional
meet as Maat was sixth, Koster eighth and Haagsma 10th.
Wisconsin-Oshkosh is the top-ranked team in the final NCAA III men's cross
country poll while Willamette (OR) is ranked second, North Central (IL) third,
Nebraska Wesleyan fourth, Keene State (N.H.) fifth, Wisconsin-LaCrosse sixth and
Wartburg (IA) seventh. Wisconsin-LaCrosse is the defending national champion
while North Central has more national titles in its history than any NCAA III
school with 12 championships including five titles during the 1990's.
Competition on Saturday will begin with the men's race at noon (E.D.T.) with the
women's race to follow at 1:00 p.m. (E.D.T.). Both races will be broadcast via
a real audio stream on the Calvin web site with assistant coach Robert Hyde
providing the play-by-play. A link to the broadcast can be found at:
WWW.Calvin.edu/sports
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