CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 15, 2004
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
NAPERVILLE, IL * The fine tradition of Calvin throwers added another chapter to its books Friday night at the Dr. Keeler Invitational hosted by North Central College.
In the women's shot put, Calvin freshman Megann VanderVliet of Oakville, Ontario took first place with a career-best and strong NCAA III provisional qualifying mark of 44-1 ¼. The throw was a career-best by more than two feet for VanderVliet and allowed her to become the third Calvin women's thrower to establish a provisional qualifying mark in the shot put this spring. In addition, her throw is the fourth-best in Calvin women's track and field history. Three of Calvin's top-four performers are on this year's team as school record holder Lisa Nanninga (Grand Rapids Christian HS ) is a junior and second-place record holder Katie Corner (Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) is a senior.
Perhaps most remarkable for VanderVliet is this is her first-ever year of track and field as she played soccer and rugby in high school and served as the reserve goalkeeper on the Calvin women's soccer team this past fall.
VanderVliet was part of a 1-2-3 Calvin finish in the shot put as Corner was second (44-0 ¾) and Nanninga third (42-3 ¼).
VanderVliet's performance was one of several standout efforts for the Calvin women on Friday. Juniors Laura Hamilton (Downers Grove, IL) and Sue Abbring (Highland, IN) both had huge nights. Hamilton won the 400 meter hurdles with a career-best and NCAA III automatic qualifying time of 1:01.47 which currently ranks her third on the national list while Abbring took first in the 200 meters (24.53) and second in the 100 meters (12.17). In the 100 meters, Abbring was edged by 2002 national champion Muffy Israel of Carthage College by a tenth of a second.
Abbring and Hamilton then teamed up with freshmen Lisa Winkle (South Christian HS) and Katie VanderLaan (Grand Rapids Christian HS) to win the 4x400 meter relay with an NCAA III automatic qualifying time of 3:48.69 which ranks as the top time in NCAA III women's track and field this spring.
Abbring, Hamilton, Winkle and freshman Meredith Homer () also took second in the 4x100 meter relay with a solid time of 48.23. In the high jump, freshman Katie Bolt (Grand Rapids Christian HS) took first with a height of 5-3 ¾ while senior Sarah Hastings (Traverse City Central HS) took second in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 10:55.5 while senior Jodi VerMeulen (Holland Christian HS) clocked in with a career-best and NCAA III provisional qualifying time of 11:08.40
In the men's competition, Calvin received NCAA III provisional qualifying times from senior Kyle Carrick (Tokyo, Japan) and junior Aaron Iverson (Radnor, OH) as Carrick was 13th in 9:22.50 while Iverson was 16th in 9:23.10. The time by Iverson was a career-best.
Other notables included freshman Josh Meckes (Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS) taking sixth in the long jump (21-6 ¾) and 10th in the shot put (47-1) and sophomore Chris Friebel (Shelby, OH) taking 19th in the 100 meters (11.23) and ninth in the 200 meters (22.23).
A group of Calvin athletes will return to North Central on Tuesday and Wednesday to compete in the women's heptathlon and men's decathlon.
The Tuesday-Wednesday competition is part of another last-chance meet at North Central with competition also scheduled for Friday, May 21.
CALVIN TRACK AND FIELD TEAMS AGAIN RANK HIGH IN MF-ATHLETIC POWER RANKINGS
The latest Division III men's and women's power rankings have been released for track and field and both Calvin teams are again highly ranked. Sponsored by the MF Athletic Company, the power rankings have been released since 1999 and reflect the strength of a track and field team in head-to-head dual meet competition.
The power rankings are tabulated by a cumulative point system. To submit a team for ranking, a school must submit two individuals in each events that is used in a head-to-head dual meet. In submitting an entry, the best time or performance of the year for the individual is submitted. An individual may not be listed in more than three individual events in the final weekly team entry.
In the latest Division III power rankings, the Calvin women's track and field team is ranked third nationally with a cumulative score of 203.73, an improvement of two points over its last team score. The Knights are just under four points behind second place Wisconsin-Oshkosh and just under five points behind first place Williams of Massachusetts. In the men's rankings, Calvin is ranked 17th with a cumulative team score of 190.20 with the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse the top team with a score of 223.02.
At the conclusion of the season, the team with the highest rankings in both the men's and women's polls will receive trophies from the MF Athletic Company.
The final rankings of the season are scheduled to be released on June 1.
2004 Women's Outdoor Track & Field
National Poll
May 2, 2004
SCHOOL REGION POINT TOTAL
1 Williams College New England 208.55
2 Wisconsin - Oshkosh Midwest 207.62
3 Calvin College Great Lakes 203.73
4 Willamette West 191.33
5 Wartburg College Central 184.66
6 College of New Jersey Atlantic 184.06
7 Wisconsin - Stevens Point Midwest 183.42
8 Wisconsin - LaCrosse Midwest 179.90
9 Whitworth College West 176.16
10 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps West 174.78
11 Concordia College Central 173.67
12 Ithaca College Atlantic 171.34
13 Augustana College Midwest 170.61
14 SUNY Cortland Atlantic 166.25
15 RPI Atlantic 166.22
16 Loras College Central 163.92
17 St. Lawrence University Atlantic 163.45
18 Gustavus Adolphus College Central 160.79
19 Bates College New England 160.25
20 Carthage College Midwest 159.29
2004 Men's Outdoor Track & Field
National Poll
May 2, 2004
SCHOOL REGION POINT TOTAL
1 Wisconsin - LaCrosse Midwest 223.02
2 Wisconsin - Stevens Point Midwest 213.31
3 Willamette University West 209.47
4 College of New Jersey Atlantic 208.37
5 Wisconsin - Platteville Midwest 200.36
6 Bates College New England 199.88
7 Augustana College Midwest 198.89
8 RPI Atlantic 198.24
9 Albion College Great Lakes 196.41
10 George Fox University West 195.98
11 SUNY @ Cortland Atlantic 195.94
12 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps West 195.54
13 Loras College Central 195.01
14 North Central College Midwest 192.74
15 Williams College New England 191.25
16 Wartburg College Central 190.51
17 Calvin College Great Lakes 190.20
18 Carthage College Midwest 189.90
19 Monmouth College Midwest 185.36
20 McMurry University South 185.24
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat May 15 14:24:01 2004
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