From: Jeff Febus (jfebus@calvin.edu)
Date: Sat May 24 2003 - 19:15:09 EDT
CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2003
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD REPORT FROM NCAA III CHAMPIONSHIPS
CANTON, NY - A trio of All-America performances on Saturday propelled the Calvin women's track and field team to its fourth top-10 national finish in the last five years as the Knights finished tied for sixth place with 30 points, finishing just two points out of the top-four and just five points out of the top three. Senior Annie VanderLaan of Grand Rapids Christian High School was a part of two All-America performances for the Knights on Saturday as she took sixth in the 100 meter hurdles (14.80) and anchored Calvin's 4x100 meter relay team to a sixth place time of 47.32. Sophomore Sue Abbring (Highland, IN) also had an All-America effort for the Knights, placing fourth in the 200 meters with a time of 24.97. Wheaton College of Massachusetts captured the national title for the third straight year, finishing with a team score of 72 points, 18 points ahead of second place Lehman University (NY).
In the men's competition, Calvin picked up two All-America performances to finish tied for 13th with a team score of 15 points. Calvin received All-America efforts from sophomore Nate Meckes (Lutheran Westland High School) and junior Hendrik Kok (Lynden, WA) as Meckes took fourth in the shot put (55-8 1/2) while Kok was fifth in the 5,000 meters (14:31.61). Defending champion Wisconsin-LaCrosse again flexed its muscle as it captured the national title in dominating fashion with a first place team score of 88 points, 24 points ahead of second place Lincoln University (PA).
Saturday's competition took place in a steady rainstorm with temperatures hovering around 50 degrees. Despite the adverse weather conditions, both Calvin teams performed with vigor.
"I was very pleased with the way we competed this afternoon," said Calvin head track and field coach Dr. Jong-Il Kim. "In order to perform well in conditions like today, an athlete must be very disciplined and I thought our Calvin athletes did that very well."
With her pair of All-America performances Saturday, VanderLaan closed out her collegiate career with seven All-America certificates including six over the last two years. She was joined on Calvin's 4x100 meter relay by sophomore Laura Hamilton (Downers Grove, IL), Abbring and sophomore Kristen Carlson (Encinitas, CA). It marked the third consecutive year that Calvin recorded an All-America finish in the 4x100 meter relay.
VanderLaan's All-America effort in the 100 meter hurdles was the first in the event in Calvin women's track and field history. Abbring's effort in the 200 meters was the best-ever national finish in the event in Calvin women's track and field history.
In the men's shot put, Meckes came up with the best-ever national finish by a Calvin athlete in the event. With the throwing circle slicked by the driving rainstorm, several throwers struggled to gain a firm footing. Using his normal two-step "slide" technique, Meckes thrived in the conditions, unleashing a throw of nearly 54 feet on his first attempt that landed him in the finals. On his last throw of the finals, Meckes uncorked an impressive throw of 55-8 ½ that ranks as the third-best of his collegiate career.
"I give Nate a lot of credit for throwing the way he did today," said Calvin throwing coach Norm Zylstra. "There were a number of throwers that let the weather conditions get to them but Nate was unfazed. I am very happy for him and I am excited for him in the future as he is just a sophomore."
Meckes is just the second athlete in Calvin track and field history to achieve All-America honoers in both the shot put and discus at the same national meet as Steve Michmerhuizen achieved the feat in 1998 and 1999. Meckes took sixth in the discus on Thursday.
Kok's effort in the 5,000 marked the second straight year he has earned All-America honors in the event. He has now achieved All-America distinction four times in his collegiate running career including three times in track and field.
Calvin also had a handful of other competitors that just missed All-America berths on Saturday. In the women's shot put, Calvin senior Mandy VanDenBosch (Grand Rapids Christian High School) took 10th with a throw of 42-6 while junior teammate Katie Corner (Grand Rapids Catholic Central High Schoo) was 11th (41-9 ¼). VanDenBosch missed a spot in the finals by one centimeter.
In the women's 400 hurdles, Hamilton missed an All-America berth by one place as she took ninth with a time of 1:02.80. Junior Sarah Hastings (Traverse City Central High School) also ran in the 5,000 meters and placed 12th with a time of 17:18.87.
THE FOLLOWING RECAP IS AN OFFICIAL RECAP OF THE MEET FROM THE ST. LAWRENCE WEB SITE
RECORD BOOK ONSLAUGHT CONTINUES DESPITE RAIN; WISCONSIN-LACROSSE, WHEATON, MA. EARN TEAM TITLES AGAIN
The University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse came from three points down in the team race to win going away for its third straight NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the final day of competition at St. Lawrence University's Merrick-Pinkard Track and Field complex on a damp Saturday. Wheaton College of Massachusetts matched Wisconsin-LaCrosse in winning its third straight women's championship, sprinting to the championship after entering Saturday's competition in 29th place with four points.
Wisconsin-LaCrosse won the men's title with 88 points with Lincoln University second with 64 and Wisconsin-Oshkosh third with 44. Wheaton scored 68 points on Saturday to win the women's title with 72 points with Lehman College second with 52 and Wisconsin-LaCrosse third with 34. Both the Wisconsin-LaCrosse men and Wheaton women completed a second straight sweep of NCAA Division III track titles as both were also 2003 indoor team champions.
Even a steady rain couldn't stop the assault on the NCAA Division III men's and women's track and field championship record book during Saturday's final day of competition. A total of ten NCAA Division III meet records were set in the 2003 meet, six more than any other Division III championship meet ever.
Defending champion Missy Buttry ran away from the field and the Wartburg College sophomore won her second straight NCAA 1500 meter championship, breaking a 16-year-old NCAA meet record and Division III all-time mark with a time of 4:20.86, nearly seven seconds faster than the previous record set by Cresey Stewart of Occidental in 1987. Buttry came back later in the day and erased the 20-year-old meet and all-time Division III record in the 5000 meters winning by nearly a full minute with a time of 15:51.33 and knocking 15 seconds off the record set in 1983. It was the tenth NCAA record set during the three day competition.
The meet and all-time Division III record in the men's 400 meters also fell on Saturday as Wisconsin-LaCrosse junior Andrew Rock clipped .61 seconds off the record which was set in 1992 with a 45.29 clocking. Rock came back later in the day to win his second title of the meet with a 21.07 clocking in the 200 meter dash. The third NCAA meet record to fall and the ninth of the 2003 meet came in the women's 800 meters as Wisconsin-Oshkosh junior Liz Woodworth defended her title with a win in 2:07.39.
The men's 4x100 relay team from Nebraska Wesleyan of Jeff Aldridge, Josh Becker, Tim Beckmann and Brett Blake ran 40.56 seconds in the first race of the day, improving the track record set by Rowan University in the trials. Carthage College won the women's 4x100 relay in a track record 46.55 seconds with a team of Caretha Carroll, Sheana Grigsby, Latrice Powell and Muffy Israel.
Willamette freshman Nick Symmonds outkicked Trinity (CT) senior Ryan Bak to win the men's 1500 title in a track record and Division III season's best 3:46.66, winning by .09 seconds. Symmonds came back just over a half hour later to complete an impressive double, outkicking defending champion Matt Groose of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the final 50 meters to win in 1:49.5.
Healy Thompson of Williams won the women's shot put with a 15.18 meter (49-9.75) throw to establish a new facility mark in that event. Thompson earned All America honors in the shot for the eighth time in her four year career, four times indoors and four outdoors. Freshman Kim Deprez of SUNY Geneseo was the other women's field event champion on Saturday. Deprez was one of four athletes who cleared 1.67 meters (5-5.75) in the high jump and won the title on fewest attempts.
Chaz Clemons of Lincoln won his fourth straight Division III 100 meter dash championship with a win in 10.71 seconds.
Senior Brandon Tedrow of LaVerne captured the 2003 championship in the men's javelin throw with a mark of 60.31 meters (197-10) while senior Justin Jarmon of Lincoln set a facility record in winning the triple jump with a 14.89 meter (48-10.25) series. Sophomore Cody Brotherton is the 2003 champion in the men's shot with a thorw of 17.84 meters (58-6.5).
In the men's 110 hurdles, junior Skip Ivey of Wittenburg nipped Derek Toshner of Wisconsin-LaCrosse at the tape to win the championship in 14.63 seconds with Toshner second in 14.65. Toshner came back to win the 400 hurdle championship in 50.81 seconds. Senior Paulette Baldwin of Lehman won the championship in the women's 100 hurdles in 14.43 seconds and Tierra Hicks of Montclair State was the champion in the women's 400 hurdles in 59.22 seconds.
Wheaton (MA) junior Amber James won her third straight NCAA championship in the 400 meter dash, setting the track record with a win in 54.25 seconds, the best in Division III this season. She came back later in the day for the title in the 200 meters as well, winning in 24.60 seconds. Teammate Vernick Smith added the championship in the 100 meters with a winning time of 12.02 seconds as Wheaton sprinted into the women's team race lead.
Senior Nick Ricco of the College of New Jersey won the 2003 championship in the men's 5000 meters in 14.23.47.
Wisconsin-LaCrosse put the lid on its team victory with a win in the 4x400 relay, holding off a charging Lincoln University team at the wire. The Wisconsin-LaCrosse team of Nate Olson, Eric Schmidt, Dan Haumschild and Kris Smith won in 3:11.08 with Lincoln second in 3:11.11. Wheaton also finished off its team title with a win in the 4x400 as the team of Tessa Donoghue, Vernick Smith, Jana Bromell and Amber James ran 3:43.32 to win by over three seconds.
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