From: Jeff Febus (jfebus@calvin.edu)
Date: Tue Jun 17 2003 - 17:43:21 EDT
CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR TUESDAY, JUNE 17,2003
Joel Klooster Named First Team Verizon Academic All-American in Cross Country/Track & Field
GRAND RAPIDS, MI * For the fourth time in his collegiate career, Joel Klooster has been named a Verizon Academic All-American. A native of Chatham, Ontario, and a graduate of Chatham Christian High School, Klooster has been named to the Verizon Academic All-America first team in the cross country/track and field college division. It marks the third time that he has been named to the Verizon Academic All-America first team as he was previously so honored in 2001 and 2002. In 2000, he was a member of the Verizon Academic All-America third team.
Klooster is the first four-time Verizon Academic All-American in Calvin men's athletic history and the second in Calvin athletic history. Sarah Gritter-Greenfield, a 2001 Calvin graduate, was also a four-time Verizon Academic All-American.
Earlier this spring, Klooster was named the recipient of Calvin's Bere' Memorial Award * given to the top senior male student-athlete at Calvin.
A four-time NCAA III All-American in track and field, Klooster placed eighth in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA III Track and Field Championships this spring to help Calvin finish tied for 13th in the final team standings. He also helped Calvin earn national runner-up honors at the NCAA Championships in 2002 as he finished second in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter runs.
In 2000, he also recorded an All-America finish in the 5,000 meters as he placed fourth at the national meet. Klooster is the Calvin record holder in the 10,000 meters with a time of 29:36.82 established earlier this spring at the Stanford Invitational. He is also the school record holder in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:25.21. Klooster also claimed the MIAA's 10,000 meter title at the league championships on May 2 with an MIAA record time of 30:22.20. His effort earned him a spot on the All-MIAA team for the third time in his career. In 2002, Klooster was named the MIAA's Most Outstanding Runner after winning the league title in the 5,000 meters.
Klooster has also compiled a distinguished collegiate cross country career, receiving All-America honors twice and running on a national championship team in 2000. In fact, all four years of Klooster's career saw him run on Calvin cross country teams that posted top-four national finishes. In 2000, Klooster was part of a memorable Calvin finish that saw the Knights capture their first-ever national championship in men's cross country. Individually, Klooster finished in 10th place to lead a group of five Calvin All-Americans that posted a first place score of 65 points. In 2001, Klooster received All-America cross country honors for the second straight year as he finished 24th to help Calvin finish second as a team.
Klooster has been a member of four MIAA championship cross country teams and has earned a spot on the All-MIAA 1st team in cross country three times. In 1999, he was named the MIAA's Most Valuable Runner. This past fall, he was named the Great Lakes Regional Athlete of the Year in men's cross country as he also helped the Knights capture their fourth consecutive Great Lakes Regional crown.
An electrical engineering major with a minor in computer science, Klooster will graduated from Calvin with a 3.98 grade point average. While a student at Calvin, he has been involved in designing computer labs across the Calvin campus. Last June, Klooster was named the college division Verizon Academic All-American of the year in men' cross country/track and field the by the College Sports Information Director's Association of America. In addition, he received Verizon Academic All-America honors for a third time as he was voted to the first team. In March of 2002, he was also awarded a prestigious NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship.
Klooster currently works part-time at Smith Industries Aerospace and Design in Kentwood, Michigan. After graduation, he plans to continue working for Smith Industries with the hope of moving on to graduate school in the next two years.
Klooster is the son of Rick and Jan Klooster of Chatham, Ontario, and Jan Lehman of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Calvin has now had its athletes recognized as Verizon Academic All-Americans 51
times including 25 times in the last five years. In addition, it marks the fifth consecutive year that a member of the Calvin men's track and field team has received Verizon Academic All-America honors.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
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