From: Jeff Febus (jfebus@calvin.edu)
Date: Fri May 23 2003 - 00:07:14 EDT
CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2003
NCAA III TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY ONE REPORT
CANTON, NY - Katie Corner could not have picked a better time to come up with her best performance of the season. On the first day of competition at the NCAA III Track and Field Championships at St. Lawrence University, the Calvin College junior unleashed a school record throw of 158-2 in the discus which allowed her to take second place and earn All-America honors in the event for the second straight year.
A graduate of Grand Rapids Catholic Central High School, Corner finished just three inches behind winner Kathy Darling of Johns Hopkins University who repeated as national champion in the discus. Corner's throw came on her second attempt of the first round and shattered her own school record by more than two feet and brought a loud roar from the Calvin fans in attendance.
"I just felt really relaxed out there today," said Corner. "My teammates and the coaching staff were giving me a lot of support which definitely made a big difference."
On her sixth and final throw of the afternoon, Corner whipped out a throw of 157 feet - the second-best of her career.
"Katie was definitely at the top of her game today and I am really excited for her," said Calvin throwing coach Norm Zylstra. "Physically, she has not been at 100 percent over the past few weeks and as a coach, you worry about the confidence of an athlete when that happens. I give a lot of credit to Katie for maintaining her focus throughout this competition and rising to the occasion."
Zylstra also credited head coach Jong-Il Kim with part of Corner's pre-event preparation. "There are a lot of distractions at a national meet and Coach Kim did an outstanding job of helping Katie mentally prepare for her event," said Zylstra. "He told her not to worry about other events going or other competitors and to just focus on herself and she followed that instruction perfectly."
The national runner-up performance by Corner is the top national finish in a throwing event in Calvin women's track and field history .
Corner's throw was one of three All-America performances turned in by the Calvin track and field teams on Thursday as sophomore Nate Meckes of Lutheran Westland High School took sixth in the discus (169-4) while senior Joel Klooster of Chatham, Ontario, placed eighth in the 10,000 meters (30:52.83).
Calvin senior Annie VanderLaan of Grand Rapids Christian High School also put herself in position for her third straight All-America finish in the heptathlon as she built a first place total of 3,083 points through four events. VanderLaan holds a 276 point lead over her nearest competitor with the long jump, javelin and 800 meters left on schedule for Friday afternoon. VanderLaan vaulted to the top of the heptathlon field standings with a riveting time of 14.66 in the 100 meter hurdles while running into the teeth of a strong headwind. In the high jump, VanderLaan cleared the bar at 5-4 ¼ and followed with a career-best throw of 34-10 ½ in the shot put. VanderLaan then capped off the day with a time of 25.32 in the 200 meters.
VanderLaan was one of two Calvin competitors to move into the top-eight through the first day as freshman teammate Christine Hendricks (Cincinnati, OH) was tied for eighth with a four-event total of 2,559 points.
"I was very pleased with Annie and Christine today," said Calvin head track and field coach Jong-Il Kim who was named National Men's and Women's Coach of the Year Wednesday night by the United States Track and Field Coaches Association. "They competed hard and maintained their focus in all four events. If they can maintain that focus, they will be in very good position when the competition is over."
VanderLaan also anchored Calvin's 4x100 meter relay team into Saturday's championship finals with a time of 47.32 that ranked as the sixth-fastest of the preliminaries. VanderLaan was joined in the relay by sophomores Laura Hamilton (Downers Grove, IL), Sue Abbring (Highland, IN) and Kristen Carlson (Encinitas, CA). Abbring and Hamilton also advanced to Saturday's championship finals in individual events with Abbring posting the fourth-best time of the prelims in the 200 meters (25.34) and Hamilton the fifth-best time of the prelims in the 400 meter hurdles (1:01.77). Hamilton's time in the 400 meter hurdles was a career-best and allowed her to become just the third runner in Calvin women's track and field history to run under 62 seconds in the event. Hamilton entered the event seeded 16th.
Calvin freshman Missy Smith (Grand Rapids Christian High School) also competed in the pole vault on Thursday and finished tied for 14th after bowing out at a height of 11-1. Marino of Richard Stockton College took first in the pole vault with an NCAA III record vault of 13-2. Adrian College freshman Amanda Haines took sixth in event with a vault of 12-0 3/4 that allowed her to claim All-America honors. In the women's 10,000 meters, Calvin junior Jessie Lair of Southfield Christian High School took 15th with a time of 36:57.62.
In the men's 10,000 meters, Klooster entered the race as the top seed. Through the first half of the race, Klooster ran in the lead pack of runners but with 10 laps to go, fell off the pace, eventually finishing eighth for the fourth All-America performance of his track and field career and the sixth of his collegiate running career.
"I know Joel is a little disappointed in his race but we are not disappointed in him," said Calvin distance coach Al Hoekstra. "He went after the leaders and gave it (a national title) his best shot. Tonight just wasn't his night but the running career this young man has had at Calvin has been simply remarkable." Klooster was one of two Calvin runners in the 10,000 as junior David Haagsma of South Christian High School took 10th with a time of 31:36.31
The sixth place finish by Meckes in the discus allowed him to become the second individual in Calvin men's track and field history to reap All-America accolades in the event as current Calvin assistant throwing coach Steve Michmerhuizen accomplished the feat in 1998 and 1999. Albion sophomore Ivan Meiring was also an All-American in the discus as he took seventh with a career-best throw of 168-3.
Calvin senior Cameron Baron (Lake Stevens, WA) also competed in the high jump Thursday but did not clear the opening height of 6-5.
Through one day of competition, the Calvin women stand in a tie for sixth place with eight points. The Calvin men are in a tie for 14th place with four points.
In addition to VanderLaan and Hendricks in the heptathlon, Calvin sophomore Andy Yazzie (Rehoboth, NM) and junior Sarah Hastings (Traverse City) are scheduled to compete in the men's and women's 3,000 meter steeplechase respectively on Friday. VanderLaan will also compete in the 100 meter hurdle trials while Abbring will run in the 100 meter dash trials.
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