CSR (Calvin Cross Country Teams Sweep to MIAA Titles)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT (Part One) FOR OCTOBER 29, 2005

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
(with reporting by Annalise VenHuizen '08 and Colin McWhertor '07)

Calvin Teams Sweep MIAA Titles

THREE RIVERS * For the 19th consecutive year, the MIAA Championship trophy in men's cross country is headed back to Calvin College. And, after a one-year absence, the MIAA women's cross country championship trophy is headed back to Calvin.

Both Calvin cross country teams swept to league crowns on Saturday at the MIAA Championships hosted by Kalamazoo at the Pineview Golf Course as the Calvin men posted a perfect score of 15 points in the 8K race while the Calvin women took first place in the 6K race with a score of 22 points.

Ranked number-one in the latest Division III Top-25 poll, the Calvin men's cross country team grabbed seven of the top eight spots in Saturday's race led by junior Tim Finnegan (Los Alamos, NM) who cranked out a first place time of 24:51 * en route to earning MIAA MVP honors. Calvin's top five runners were separated by just 17 seconds as junior Harrison Jorritsma (Beamsville, ON) was second in 24:56, freshman Jed Christiansen (Greenville, PA) third in 24:58, sophomore Bill Reynolds (Newtown Square, PA) fourth in 25:04 and sophomore Jon Gries (King of Prussia, PA) fifth in 25:08. Rounding out Calvin's top seven were sophomore Tad Hulst (Zeeland HS) in seventh (25:20) and senior Tyler Zwagerman (Holland Christian HS) in eighth (25:24).

All seven Calvin runners were named to the All-MIAA first team with Finnegan earning a spot on the first team for the third straight year.

The league title was the 32nd overall for Calvin in men's cross country * more than any other MIAA school. Calvin's current string of 19 straight MIAA titles in men's cross country is the second-longest championship streak in MIAA athletics history, surpassed only by the current 66-year run by the Kalamazoo men's tennis team. Calvin's performance on Saturday also marked its third consecutive perfect score at the MIAA Championships including the sixth time in school history.

"We're thrilled to win another MIAA Championship," said Calvin men's cross country coach Brian Diemer. "We never take it for granted. I thought we ran very strong team race. We've had a few injuries over the last couple of weeks but I thought we fought through them well this afternoon. We've still got a few wrinkles to work out but I like the direction this team is heading."

Diemer had particular words of praise for sophomore Bill Reynolds. "I thought Bill had a break-out race," said Diemer. "He has that kind of talent but he's struggled with consistency. I was very pleased to see him up among our leaders today and I am confident he will continue to run that way the rest of the year."

Al Hoekstra, who shares the coaching duties with Diemer was also excited about the way the Knights ran. "Our top two runners (Finngan and Jorritsma) continued to do what they've done all year," said Hoekstra. "But one of the guys that I was happiest with was Jed Christiansen. We've been a little concerned about Jed over the last few weeks. It isn't easy for a freshman to make the transition to collegiate cross country and sometimes a young runner hits a wall in the middle of the year. We thought that maybe Jed was hitting that wall a few weeks ago but he proved today that he's got a strong second wind. That was very exciting to see."

In the women's race, Calvin took three of the top five and six of the top 11 in reclaiming the MIAA title from rival Hope which finished second on Saturday with 59 points.

Calvin junior Lydia Singer (Wilmington, DE) led the way for the 20th-ranked Knights, taking first place with a time of 22:11. She was part of a 1-3-5-6-7 Calvin finish as the Knights had four runners finish just 25 seconds apart. Junior Laura Holtrop (Derwood, MD) was next for Calvin, finishing third with a time of 22:44 while sophomore Christina Overbeck (Seattle, WA) was fifth (23:00), senior Lindsay Rooney (Denver, CO) sixth (23:10) and freshman Calah Schlabach (St. Michael's, AZ) seventh (23:10). Rounding out Calvin's top seven were freshmen Kelly Edwards (Grand Blanc HS) in 11th (23:20) and Anne Fennema (Brookfield, WI) 14th (23:34).

Calvin's finish on Saturday was accomplished despite its top runner Camille Medema (Grand Rapids Christian HS) fighting through an illness. Medema took first at the MIAA Jamboree in September but slipped to 37th place on Saturday.

"I thought our team rallied well on a day when Camille was not at our best," said Calvin women's cross country coach Nancy Meyer. "Things like that happen in cross country and when they do, it tests the mettle of your team. Lydia Singer really stepped up and took control of the race which we needed her to do. She was phenomenal today but I was very pleased with the rest of our team as well. We had several of our young runners step up in a big way and we had some key veteran runners like Lindsay Rooney come up strong as well."

Singer was named the MIAA's MVP and earned a spot on the All-MIAA first team. She was joined on the first team from Calvin by Holtrop, Rooney, Overbeck and Schlabach. Edwards was named to the All-MIAA second team as was Calvin freshman Emily Arkus (Tinley Park, IL).

Since the MIAA instituted women's cross country as a varsity sport in 1981, Calvin has won 17 of a possible 25 MIAA titles.

Both Calvin cross country teams will now break for two weeks and prepare for the NCAA III Great Lakes Regionals in Cincinnati, Ohio. The top three teams in the men's and also in the women's races will advance to the NCAA III Championships in Delaware, Ohio November 19.

The Calvin women's cross country team is currently one of three teams from the Great Lakes Region nationally ranked and according to Meyer, the competition in the women's (Great Lakes Regional) race will be stiff. "We'll have our work cut out for us," said Meyer. "Our goal is to finish in the top three and make it to nationals. We need to rest, refocus, get healthy and go after it in two weeks."

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Oct 29 17:54:30 2005