From: Jeff Febus (jfebus@calvin.edu)
Date: Wed Apr 16 2003 - 23:08:31 EDT
CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 16, 2003
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
The MIAA dual meet win streak of the Calvin men's track and field team is still
alive after a hard-fought 84-70 dual meet win over league rival Albion on a
cold, windswept Wednesday afternoon.
The Knights extended their MIAA dual meet win streak to 43 dual meets, dating
back to 1994. More importantly, Calvin finished out its MIAA dual meet
campaign unbeaten at 5-0, giving the Knights 10 placement points heading into
the MIAA Championship meet May 2 & 3 at Alma College. The winner of the MIAA
Championship meet will earn 12 placement points with the the second place team
receiving 10 and so on down. The team with the most combined placement points
over the course of the entire MIAA season is determined the final league
champion.
Calvin has won or share nine consecutive MIAA titles including eight outright
crowns.
Albion is the last team to hand Calvin an MIAA dual meet loss as the Britons
defeated the Knights in 1994 when Calvin and Albion shared the final league
title.
On Wednesday, the Knights were pushed to the limit by the visiting Britons but
came up with enough key performances to hold on for the win.
Field events were a key for the Knights with sophomore Nate Meckes (Westland
Lutheran HS) leading the way as he took first place in the discus (161-0), shot
put (54-1/ 1/2) and second second in the javelin (168-10). His marks in the
discus and shot were both strong NCAA III provisional qualifying performances.
Another highlight of the afternoon came in the high jump as senior Tony
Westhouse (South Christian HS) shook off the cobwebs to win the high jump with
a leap of 6-2 while senior Cameron Baron (Lake Stevens, WA) was second (6-0).
In the pole vault, Calvin went 1-2-3 behind a trio of season-best performances.
Freshman Jason Koning (South Christian HS) took first with a mark of 14-0 with
freshmen Brian DeKorne and Jeff DeMaagd of Grand Rapids Christian High School
taking second and third respectively with marks of 13-0 and 12-6. Senior Jon
Hutchful (Accra, Ghana) came up with a first place mark of 44-4 3/4 in the
triple jump while senior Francis Ikwueme (Jos, Nigeria) took second in the long
jump (20-11). Ikwueme also captured the 100 meters with a blazing time of
10.91.
Senior Steve Abbring (Highland, IN) also came up big for the Maroon and Gold as
he took first in the 400 meters (50.37) and second in the 200 meters (22.55).
Freshman Brian VanDyken (Grand Rapids Christian HS) added a second place time
of 51.07 in the 400 meters.
In the distances, Calvin came up with a number of standout performances.
Sophomore Andy Yazzie (Rehobath, NM) opened the afternoon by winning the 3,000
meter steeplechase in gritty, determined fashion, clocking in with a time of
9:30.55. In the 1,500 meters, Calvin went 1-2-3 with sophomore Jeff Engbers
(Whitinsville, MA) taking first (4:03.86), junior Hendrik Kok (Lynden, WA)
taking second (4:04.19) and senior Joel Klooster (Chatham, ON) taking third
(4:04.98).
Klooster then went on to capture the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:06.77 with
junior Dave Haagsma (South Christian HS) following in second (15:12.21).
In the women's competition, Calvin extended its MIAA dual meet win streak to 66
with a 112.5-40.5 win over Albion. The win streak is the longest in MIAA
women's track and field history and also allowed the Knights to finish the MIAA
dual meet season 5-0.
Calvin came up with a pair of school record performances in the women's meet as
junior Sarah Hastings (Traverse City Central HS) took first place in the 3,000
meter steeplechase with a strong NCAA III provisional qualifying time of
11:08.46 while senior Annie VanderLaan (Grand Rapids Christian HS) shattered
her own school mark in the 100 meter hurdles with a strong NCAA III provisional
qualifying time of 14.71. VanderLaan also took first in the 200 meters with a
time of 25.61. In winning the 3,000 meter steeplechase, Hastings shattered the
school record by 20 seconds. Senior Tami VerMeulen (Holland Christian HS) just
missed an NCAA III provisional qualifying time in the event as she placed
second in 11:30.05.
Junior Katie Corner (Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) took first place in the
discus (141-11) and shot put (41-7 1/4).
Other first place performances for the Calvin women included:
*Sophomore Sue Abbring (Highland, IN) in the 100 meters (12.62).
*Sophomore Laura Hamilton (Downers Grove, IL) in the 400 meter hurdles
(1:06.07).
*Freshman Camille Medema (Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the 800 meters
(2:20.98).
*Freshman Missy Smith (Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the pole vault (10-0).
*Junior Jessie Lair (Southfield Christian HS) in the 1,500 meters (5:05.64)
*Junior Sarah Weeda (Manhattan, MT) in the long jump (16-2).
*Freshman Kim Vanderzee (Shoreline, WA) in the high jump (5-2).
*Junior Carrie Zatarga (Coopersville HS in the hammer throw (exhibition event)
wiht a mark of 133-1.
Both Calvin track and field teams will now prepare to compete at the Bronco
Invitational hosted by Western Michigan University on Saturday.
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