CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 7, 2004
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
ALBION * The longest dual meet win streak in MIAA men's track and field history is over. With a 101-91 MIAA dual meet victory over Calvin Wednesday afternoon, Albion snapped a string of 43 straight MIAA dual meet victories by the Knights. Calvin's last MIAA dual meet loss had been in 1994 when the Knights were also defeated by Albion.
The dual meet loss does not put Calvin out of the MIAA title picture but it does place Albion in front of the Knights by two points. Each MIAA dual meet victory is worth two placement points. The winner of the MIAA Field Day receives 12 placement points with the second place team receiving 10 points, the third place team eight points and so on. The team with the most placement points at the conclusion of the season is the final MIAA champion. In the case of a tie in placement points, a co-championship would be declared.
Heading into the 2004 MIAA season, the Calvin men's track and field team has won at least a share of 10 consecutive MIAA titles. The Knights are one title shy of matching the MIAA men's track and field record of 11 straight titles claimed by Michigan State University between 1897 and 1907.
In the women's competition, Calvin recorded a convincing 143-48 dual meet victory over Albion, extending its MIAA dual meet win streak to 62 * the longest dual meet win streak in MIAA track and field history (men's or women's).
The dual meet between the Calvin and Albion men's track and field teams featured several close finishes. A deciding section of the meet however was the throwing events (shot put, discus and javelin). Normally a strength for Calvin, the throws were problematic for the Knights as they were outscored 20-7 in the three events as the Britons flexed their muscles to pull away for the historic win.
Some of the most hard-fought events included the sprints and jumps. In the 100 and 200 meter dashes, Calvin sophomore Chris Friebel (Shelby, OH) and Albion senior Dominic Reid traded first place performances. In the 100, Reid took first with a time of 11.00 with Friebel second at 11.17. In the 200, Friebel nipped Reid for first place with a time of 22.31, a thousandth of a second ahead of the speedy Reid.
In the high jump, Adam Strobe of Albion, Jeremy Knoester (Grand Rapids Christian HS) of Calvin, Ross Plont of Albion and Jason Bowman of Albion all recorded marks of 6-0 but Strobe won the event on fewer attempts with Knoester second and Plont third.
In the long jump, Calvin freshman Josh Meckes (Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS) came up with a season-best effort of 21-10 to edge Albion sophomore Michael Bailey who finished second, just one inch behind at 21-9. Two other tight finishes came in the 800 meters and 4x400 meter relay. In the 800, Albion's Noah Lopez finished roughly a thousandth of a second ahead of Calvin senior Joel Post (Highland, IN) in taking first against the Knights with a time of 1:56.05. In the 4x400 meter relay, Calvin's quartet took first place with a time of 3:24.08, 11 hundreths of a second ahead of Albion's second place team.
Meckes also had a season-best effort in finishing second in the shot put with a heave of 47-8. Calvin's other highlight in the throws came in the discus as sophomore Justin Grasmeyer (Norwalk, CA) took second with a season-best and NCAA III provisional qualifying throw of 156-0. Albion junior Ivan Meiring was impressive in winning the discus with a throw of 166-4.
In the 400 meter hurdles, Calvin junior Reuben Sportel (South Christian HS) took second with a season-best time of 55.61.
Other highlights for the Calvin men included junior Andy Yazzie (Rehoboth, NM) winning the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a strong NCAA III provisional qualifying time of 9:07.77 while seniors Matt Edwards (Grand Blanc HS) and Tim Avery (Rochester, NY) went 1-2 in the 5,000 with respective NCAA III provisional qualifying times of 14:46.01 and 14:48.29.
Other winners for Calvin included senior Hendrik Kok (Lynden, WA) in the 1,500 meters 3:57.98 and sophomore Brian VanDyken (Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the 400 meters (49.40). VanDyken also had a nice performance in taking third in the 200 meters with a career-best time of 22.52.
On the women's side, Calvin continued to record national caliber performances as the Knights posted nine NCAA III provisional qualifying efforts.
Leading the way were senior Katie Corner (Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) and junior Sue Abbring (Highland, IN). Corner took first place in the discus with an NCAA III automatic qualifying throw of 156-7 while also taking second in the shot put with a mark of 41-7. Corner's throw in the discus is currently the top performance in NCAA III women's track and field this spring.
In the 100 and 200 meters, Abbring sparkled as she won both events with strong NCAA III provisional qualifying times. In the 100 meters, Abbring nearly broke her own school record as she clocked in with a season-best time of 12.20. In the 200 meters, Abbring ripped off a season-best time of 24.68 which ranks as the fastest time in the event in NCAA III women's track and field this spring.
In the pole vault, Calvin sophomore Missy Smith (Grand Rapids Christian HS) came up with a career-best and NCAA III provisional qualifying mark of 12-0 which was good for first place.
In the shot put, Calvin junior Lisa Nanninga (Grand Rapids Christian HS) came up with a career-best effort in winning the event with a career-best and NCAA III provisional qualifying mark of 42-10 ½. Senior Sarah Hastings (Traverse City Central HS) also had a big afternoon, winning the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a strong NCAA III provisional qualifying time of 10:58.29. The time by Hastings is currently the fastest time in the event in NCAA III women's track and field this spring. Freshman Lydia Singer (Wilmington, DE) was also strong for the Knights in taking second in the steeplechase with a career-best time of 11:56.52.
In the 5,000 meters, Calvin freshman Laura Holtrop (Derwood, MD) took second with a career-best time of 19:06.96.
Both of Calvin's relay teams took first place and both clocked in with NCAA III provisional qualifying times. In the 4x100 meter relay, Calvin took first with a time of 48.99 while its 4x400 meter relay team took first with a season-best time of 3:56.85.
Abbring was one of two double-winners for the Knights on Wednesday as sophomore Christine Hendricks (Cincinnati, OH) won the long jump (16-0 ½) and javelin (115-4) while sophomore Kim Vanderzee (Shoreline, WA) won the high jump (5-2) and triple jump (33-10).
Other individual winners for Calvin included junior Laura Hamilton (Downers Grove, IL) in the 400 meter hurdles (1:04.15, NCAA III provisional); freshman Lorilyn Vogel (Orange City, IA) in the 100 hurdles (15.74); sophomore Camille Medema (Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the 1,500 meters (4:51.11) and freshman Kate VanderLaan (Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the 400 meters (59.70).
Vanderlaan was part of a 1-3-4 Calvin finish in the 400 as freshman Katie Bolt (Grand Rapids Christian HS) was third (1:00.30) and freshman Jill Capel (Unity Christian HS) fourth (1:01.20). Wednesday also marked the outdoor debut of Calvin freshman Lisa Winkle (South Christian HS). Winkle was part of a 1-2-3 Calvin finish in the 100 meter hurdles as she took second (15.90) and Hendricks third (16.16).
Both teams return to action next Wednesday when they host Hope and Olivet in double dual meets.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Thu Apr 8 00:04:42 2004
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