CSR (Calvin Men's Cross Country Team Repeats as National Champions)

NOVEMBER 20, 2004

Calvin Men's Cross Country Team Repeats as NCAA III Champion

COLFAX, WI - Repeating as a national champion is never easy but on Saturday,
the Calvin men's cross country did just that, posting a first place score of
107 points at the NCAA III Cross Country Championships hosted by the University
of Wisconsin-Eau Claire at the Whitetail Golf Course.

Calvin finished 30 points ahead of second place North Central College (IN) to
become just the fourth school in NCAA III men's cross country history to win
national titles in back-to-back years and the first to do so since North
Central achieved the feat in 1998 and 1999. The national crown is the third in
Calvin men's cross country history - all of which have come in the last five
years.

Ranked number one from start to finish this fall, the Knights ran with a
target on their backs this fall and in Saturday's race, Calvin also had to
fend off injury and illness.

Calvin senior David Haagsma of Grand Rapids South Christian High School ran
Saturday's race with a heavily bandaged heel, the result of a spike wound
that required six stitches at last week's NCAA III Great Lakes Regional. In
addition, senior Andy Yazzie of Rehoboth, New Mexico ran with a case of
bacterial pneumonia, a condition he had been suffering from for over a week.

Nevertheless, Haagsma and Yazzie both placed in the top 51 spots on Saturday
with Haagsma running to his second straight All-America berth with a 30th place
time of 25:13 while Yazzie was 51st in 25:31..

Haagsma was one of three All-Americans for Calvin in Saturday's race as
senior Jeff Engbers of Whitinsville, Masscahusetts was 20th in 25:11 and
sophomore Tim Finnegan of Los Alamos, New Mexico 28th in 25:13. The
All-America berth was the first for Engbers and the second for Finnegan.

Senior Hendrik Kok of Lynden, Washington just missed an All-America berth,
finishing 39th with a time of 25:21 with Yazzie serving as Calvin's
all-important fifth runner as just a 19-second spread separated Calvin's top
five runners.

Rounding out Calvin's finishers were freshman Bill Reynolds in 90th (25:51)
and sophomore Ben Hammer (Williamsburg) in 107th (26:04).

"Our guys ran with tremendous heart, particularly Dave Haagsma and Andy
Yazzie" said Calvin men's cross country coach Brian Diemer. "We knew
that Andy was not 100 percent and we also knew that he would play a key role if
we were going to win today. Andy held on with everything he had. It was truly
one of the most courageous efforts we have had in Calvin men's cross country
history."

According to Yazzie, giving up in Saturday's race was not an option.
"There was no way I was going to let my teammates down," said Yazzie who
was running in his first national cross country meet on Saturday. "I saw my
teammates up ahead of me and I just dug down and gave it everything I had.
I'm thankful that it was good enough for the (team) win. It's
definitely an unforgettable experience that I will cherish for a long time."

The national title was also of historical mention as it marked the third
national crown in the last five years for the Calvin men's cross country team
including the seventh in Calvin men's athletic history.

"It is so difficult to repeat as a national champion," said Calvin men's
cross country coach Al Hoekstra who shares the coaching duties with Diemer.
"We have all of the respect in the world for North Central College and we
knew that they would challenge us. They've won 12 national titles because
they always believe that they can win. I'm not surprised at all that they
came as close as they did to us today."

Pack running was another key to Calvin's championship performance according
to Diemer and Hoekstra. "Our guys could have run as a bunch of individuals
and sought their own glory," said Hoekstra. "But if we had done that,
there is no way we would have won the national championship. Some of our guys
would have fallen out the back door if they had run like that but by focusing
on each other, it gave them the encouragement to keep pressing on."

"There were some guys on our team who made individual sacrifices so that
this championship could be possible," said Diemer. "They stayed together
in a pack and that made all the difference in the world. Because of the large
crowd today, it was very difficult for runners to see up ahead. The crowd kind
of acted as a canopy over the course and unless you were in a pack, there was
no way you could see your teammates up ahead."

Making sacrifices for the good of the team is nothing new for the Knights said
Haagsma. "We don't care about individual awards," said Haagsma. "We
care about each other and we care about this team. That's why this
championship is so satisfying because it's not a collection of individuals,
it's a team that works for a common purpose."

Calvin's 30-point margin of victory was the closest at a national (men's)
meet since 2000 when Calvin edged Keene State for the title by a 22-point
margin.

At the post-meet awards ceremony, Diemer and Hoekstra were named NCAA Division
III Co-Coaches of the Year for the second consecutive year and for the third
time in the last five years.

Saturday's individual title went to Wartburg senior Josh Moen who repeated
as national champion with a first place time of 24:28.

The women's individual title also went to Wartburg as senior Missy Buttry
was able to cruise to her third straight national title as she clocked in with
a first place time of 20:22, 24 seconds ahead of Wisconsin-Oshkosh senior Liz
Woodworth. Williams College of Massachusetts took home the team title with a
score of 110 points which was 19 points better than second place Middlebury
College.

Hope senior Tina Pike was the lone MIAA representative in the women's race
as she took 36th place with a time of 22:25.

With seven national titles now in its athletic history, Calvin has matched
Kalamazoo College for the most national (team) championships by an MIAA member
school. Kalamazoo has captured seven national team championships in men's
tennis.

In addition to its three national crowns in men's cross country, Calvin has
captured two national championships in women's cross country and two in
men's basketball. Two Calvin teams have now won national titles in
back-to-back fashion as the women's cross country team captured back-to-back
titles in 1998 and 1999.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Nov 20 19:12:03 2004