CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR Saturday, MAY 29, 2004
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
DECATUR, IL * The Calvin women's track and field team may want Millikin University to make hosting the NCAA III Track and Field Championships an annual event. At the 2001 NCAAs hosted by Millikin, Calvin posted its best-ever national finish, placing second with 49 points. On Saturday, Calvin put the Millikin track to good use once again, taking national runner-up honors again but this time recording a point total of 54.3 points¯the highest-ever scored by a Calvin track and field team at a national meet. The second place finish is the 10th national runner-up berth by a Calvin athletic team.
National runner-up finishes by Calvin athletic teams
Volleyball, 1986
Women's Cross Country, 1992
Women's Cross Country, 1993
Women's Cross Country 1994
Men's Cross country , 1998
Women's Track and Field, 2001
Men's Cross Country, 2001
Men's Track and Field, 2002
Men's Cross Country, 2002
Women's Track and Field, 2004
Going into the 4x400 meter relay the Knights had a chance to win the women's national championship¯but they had to take first place. Unfortunately for Calvin the Knights came up just a little shy as it finished third in the 4x400 relay. All in all it was the closest that the Calvin women have come to a national championship as it was also the second-closest 1-2 finish in NCAA III women's track and field history. Calvin finished second with 54.3 points just behind first place Wisconsin-Oshkosh who had 57.0 points. When the Calvin women were national runner-up in 2001 the Knights finished 34.5 points behind national champions Wheaton (Mass.). The Calvin men finished in a tie for 32nd place.
Calvin head coach Jong-Il Kim was very pleased with the women's team performance. "Going in I thought that we had a good chance to make a run at the top. Our girls put themselves in very good position to have a chance to win it today. I am very proud of the whole team they worked hard during the season to get to this point."
1985
Cortland State (NY) 62, Southern New-Orleans (LA) 61 (one-point margin)
2004
Wisconsin-Oshkosh 57.0, Calvin 54.3 (2.7 point margin)
1993
Lincoln (PA) 57, Wisconsin-LaCrosse 52 (five-point margin)
1995
Wisconsin-Oshkosh 58, St. Thomas (MN) 52 (six-point margin)
1999
Lincoln (PA) 54, Wheaton (MA) 48 (six-point margin)
The Calvin women had 11 individuals record All-American finishes, the most ever by a Calvin track and field team while the Calvin men had four notch All-American finishes.
11 Calvin All-Americans (11) sets a Calvin record for most women's All-Americans
Missy Smith * Pole Vault
Katie Bolt * High Jump
Kim Vanderzee * High Jump
Katie Corner * Discus, Shot Put
Lisa Nanninga * Shot Put
Sarah Hastings * 3000 Steeplechase
Sue Abbring * 4x100, 4x400, 100 Meter, 200 Meter, 100 Meter
Laura Hamilton * 400 Hurdles, 4x100, 4x400
Lisa Winkle * 4x100, 4x400
Katie VanderLaan * 4x400
Meredith Homer * 4x100
Three Calvin Men's All-Americans
Justin Grasmeyer * Discus
David Haagsma * 5,000 Meter, 10,000 Meter
Matt Edwards * 10,000 Meter
*Meredith Homer, Lisa Winkle, Laura Hamilton, Sue Abbring, 400 Meter Relay * The Calvin 4x100 relay team came into the finals with the fastest time in the nation in the time trial but could not make it stand up in the finals. The team of Meredith Homer (Charlton, MA/Whitinsville Christian), Lisa Winkle (Grand Rapids South Christian), Laura Hamilton (Downers Grove, IL/Timothy Christian), and Sue Abbring (Highland, IN/Illiana Christian) finished fourth with a time of 47.54.The finish broke the season-best time of the relay of 47.87. It is the fourth straight year that Calvin has posted an All-America finish in the 4x100 relay. The Knights were sixth in 2003 and fifth in 2001 & 2002.
*Jeff Engbers, 1500 Meter * A gutsy run by Calvin junior Jeff Engbers (Whitinsville, MA/Whitinsville Christian) was not quite enough to earn All-America honors as he placed 10th in the 1500 meter run. He was in eighth place going down the stretch but just couldn't hold on as two runners passed him up near the finish line. Engbers time was 3:54.24 which was the best time of 2004, it bettered his previous time of 3:54.93 that he set in the time trials.
*Katie Corner, Lisa Nanninga, Megann VanderVliet, Shot Put * Senior Katie Corner (Grand Rapids Catholic Central) and junior Lisa Nanninga (Grand Rapids Christian) etched their name in the All-America books on Saturday afternoon amongst a crowded field in the shot put. Corner finished with a school-record throw of 45-1 3/4 to place sixth in the event. She unleashed a throw of 45-1 in the preliminaries to advance to the finals. Nanninga was seventh in the shop put as she threw for a distance of 44-11 ½ bettering her throw of 44-5 ½ in the preliminaries. The school record held previously by Nanninga was 44-11 ½. Freshman Megann VanderVliet (Oakville, ON, Canada/Oakville Trafalgar) did not advance out of preliminaries, but her best throw was 43-1 ½.
*Sue Abbring, 100 Meter * Calvin junior Sue Abbring (Highland, IN/Illiana Christian) finished seventh in the 100 meter dash and earned All-America status. Her time was 12.46.
*Laura Hamilton, 400 Hurdles * After finishing ninth in the 400 meter hurdles last year Calvin junior Laura Hamilton (Downers Grove, IL/Timothy Christian) made this opportunity count as she burned her way to a third place finish Saturday afternoon at Frank M. Lindsay Field. She also set a new school-record with a time of 1:00.70, breaking her time of 1:01.02 that she set of Thursday in the time trials.
*Sue Abbring, 200 Meter * Calvin junior Sue Abbring (Highland, IN/Illiana Christian) ran her way to another All-American finish as she placed third in the 200 meter dash. She ran 24.7 in the time trials on Thursday and bettered that time in the finals notching a time of 24.51, just off her school record time of 24.46.
*Hendrik Kok, David Haagsma Matt Edwards, 5,000 Meter * For the second time in three days Calvin senior David Haagsma (Grand Rapids South Christian) is an All-American in a distance event. Haagsma finished seventh in the 5,000 meter run with a time of 14:58.75. He trailed near the end of the pack for the majority of the race but made his move in the last 800 meters of the race to move into seventh place. Fellow classmate Matt Edwards (Grand Blanc) just missed All-American status, finishing ninth with a time of 15:04.77. Also competing was senior Hendrik Kok (Lynden, WA/Lynden Christian) who finished in 15th place with a time of 15:18.21.
*Katie VanderLaan, Lisa Winkle, Laura Hamilton, Sue Abbring, 1,600 Meter Relay * For the sixth time in seven years the Calvin women's 4x400 relay team are All-Americans. The team of Katie VanderLaan (Grand Rapids Christian), Lisa Winkle (Grand Rapids South Christian), Laura Hamilton (Downers Grove, IL/Timothy Christian), and Sue Abbring (Highland, IN/Illiana Christian) finished in third place with a time of 3:46.44. The time was the best of the year for the Calvin relay team by over two seconds.
Final Women's Standings
1 Wisconsin Oshkosh 57.0
2 Calvin College 54.3
3 Wheaton College (Ma) 37.8
4 Wartburg College 35.0
5 College of New Jersey 33.0
6= Carthage College 32.0
6= Amherst College 32.0
8= Williams College 29.0
8= Bates College 29.0
10 Wisconsin La Crosse 27.0
Final Men's Standing
1 Wisconsin La Crosse 101.0
2 Nebraska Wesleyan 39.0
3= Wisconsin Whitewater 30.0
3= Willamette University 30.0
5 Lincoln University 24.0
6= Wisconsin Oshkosh 21.0
6= Elizabethtown College 21.0
8 University Of Chicago 20.0
9 Univ of St. Thomas 19.0
10= Middlebury College 17.0
10= McMurry University 17.0
10= Emory University 17.0
13 Albion College 16.0
14= Wisconsin Platteville 15.0
14= Williams College 15.0
14= Wartburg College 15.0
14= North Central College 15.0
18= Wilmington College 14.0
18= Rensselaer Poly Inst 14.0
18= Cortland S U N Y 14.0
18= ClaremontMuddScripps 14.0
22= Montclair State 13.0
22= George Fox Univ 13.0
24= Widener University 12.0
24= College of New Jersey 12.0
26 New Jersey City U 11.0
27= Wisconsin Stevens Pt 10.0
27= Wheaton College (Ma) 10.0
27= McDaniel College 10.0
27= Loras College 10.0
27= Catholic University 10.0
32= Springfield College 9.0
32= Geneseo S U N Y 9.0
32= Calvin College 9.0
32= Anderson (Indiana) 9.0
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat May 29 20:55:33 2004
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