CSR (Women's Track and Field Pre-Season Outlook)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 15, 2006

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD OUTLOOK
(4th In a Series of Six Spring Sports Previews)

The Calvin women's track and field team will seek to extend the longest active championship streak in MIAA women's athletics this spring. The Knights have captured at least a share of an unprecedented 16 consecutive league crowns * a championship streak that is surpassed in the MIAA only by the 66 straight league titles captured by the Kalamazoo men's tennis program and the 19 straight titles by the Calvin men's cross country program.

Under the direction of head coach Jong-il Kim, the Knights will have several talented pieces on which to build this spring.

The Knights return three senior All-Americans in multi-event athlete Christine Hendricks (Cincinnati, OH/Turpin HS), pole vaulter Missy Smith (Ada/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and Kim Vanderzee (Shoreline, WA/Shorewood HS). A two-time All-American in the heptathlon and the MIAA's Most Outstanding Field Event Performer in 2005, Hendricks can fill a variety of roles. At the 2005 MIAA Championships, Hendricks placed third in the 100 meter hurdles, third in the high jump, third in the long jump and first in the javelin. A three-time All-MIAA selection, Hendricks then took third at the NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the heptathlon. Also a three-time All-MIAA selection, Smith is two-time All-American in the pole vault and is the reigning MIAA champion in the event. At the NCAA III Championships last May, Smith took fifth in the pole vault after placing fourth the year before. Also a standout in the classroom, Smith was named a third team Academic All-American upo!
n the conclusion of the 2005 season. Vanderzee is also a three-time All-MIAA selection and a three-time league champion in the high jump. In addition, Vanderzee is a two-time All-American in the high jump, placing second in 2004 and fifth in 2005.

Rounding out the senior class are distance runners Tracy Dykstra (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) and Camille Medema (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS). Both will compete in the 800 meter run with Medema also running in the 1,500 meters. Medema is the defending MIAA champion in both the 800 and 1,500. She also advanced to the NCAA III Championships in the 800 meters after clocking a school record time of 2:12.79 in a last-chance meet at North Central College last May.

The junior class will be led by jumpers Lauren Colyn (Battle Creek/Kalamazoo Christian HS) and Lisa Winkle (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS). Along with Hendricks and Smith, Colyn and Winkle will serve as team captains this spring. Colyn is a high jump specialist and was a national qualifier in 2004. Winkle is the defending MIAA champion in the long jump and also competes in the hurdles, 200 meters and 400 meters. In addition, Winkle has been a part of Calvin All-American 4x400 meter relay teams over the past two years.

Filling out the junior class are Katie Bolt (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS), Bethany Hofman (Holland/Holland Christian HS), Laura Holtrop (Rockville, MD/Chapelgate Christian Academy), Nicki Reckman (Sarnia, ON/Lambton Christian HS), Lydia Singer (Wilmington, DE/Hillcrest Academy), Valerie Thompson (Whitinsville, MA/Whitsinville Christian HS), Melissa Vanden Berg (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS), Megann VanderVliet (Oakville, ON/Oakville Trafalgar HS), Lorilyn Vogel (Orange City, IA/Unity Christian HS) and Kelly Zwier (Kalamazoo/Kalamazoo Christian HS).

Bolt was an All-MIAA selection in 2005 and an NCAA III All-American in the high jump in 2004. Bolt will again compete in the high jump as well as in the 400 meters * an event that she placed fourth in at the 2005 MIAA Championships. VanderVliet is a returning All-American in the shot put. She placed third in the event at the 2005 NCAA III Championships and also competed in the discus. Winkle is another returning All-MIAA selection and is a two-time All-American as a member of Calvin's 4x400 meter relay team. Winkle is the defending MIAA champion in the long jump (17-8) and was also second in the 400 meters at the MIAA Championships. She later qualified for the NCAA III Championships in the 400 meters and just missed a spot in the finals, posting the ninth-best time (57.23) out of the prelims. Singer is the defending MIAA champion in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and was a national qualifier in the event in 2005, placing 14th at the NCAA III Championships.

Vogel is the defending MIAA champion in the triple jump. At the 2005 MIAA Championships, Vogel cranked out an MIAA record jump of 36-10 ¼, just missing an NCAA III provisional qualifying mark. Vogel also flirted with an NCAA III provisional qualifying mark in the long jump, finishing with a season-best jump of 17-11 ¾.

One individual who did hit an NCAA III provisional qualifying mark in the long jump last spring was Zwier who surpassed the 18-foot mark in two separate meets last May including a season-best jump of 18-2 ¼ in a last-chance meet hosted by North Central College. Thompson will also add depth to the field events in the pole vault and has a career-best mark of 11-0. Meanwhile, Hofman, Holtrop, Reckman and Vanden Berg will all join Singer in the distance ranks.

The sophomore class includes Brooke Baechler (White Pigeon/White Pigeon HS), Lynn Marsh (North Vernon, IN/Jennings County HS), Christina Overbeck (Seattle, WA/Bellevue Christian HS), Lindsey Peuler (Grandville/Grandville HS), Laura Sizemore (Sheboygan, WI/Sheboygan County Christian HS), Rachel Vander Wiele (Saugatuck/Holland Christian HS), Sarah Weller (Wyoming/Calvin Christian HS), Sarah Wittingen (East Grand Rapids/East Grand Rapids HS) and Jenny Zylstra (Lombard, IL/Timothy Christian HS).

Baechler and Peuler are first-year members of the Calvin women's track and field team but competed in track and field during their high school years. Both have also been members of the Calvin women's basketball team over the last two years. Baechler will compete in the throwing events while Peuler will compete in the hurdles. Overbeck, Sizemore and Zylstra will run in the distance events. Vander Wiele will join Baechler in the throwing ranks and will specialize in the discus and javelin events. Weller is a 200/400 meter run and will again provide strong depth in the events.
An All-MIAA selection in 2005, Wittingen specializes in the hurdles and was a national qualifier in both the 100 meter and 400 meter hurdles last May while also running a leg on Calvin's All-American 4x400 meter relay team that placed fourth. In the prelims of the 100 meter hurdles, Wittingen clocked in with a season-best time of 14.63, just missing a school record and a spot in the finals.

The Knights will also feature a strong freshmen class that features 15 student-athletes. Freshmen to watch include Lauren Bergstrom (Rochester, MN/Rochester Century HS), Jennifer DeFauw (Grosse Pointe/Grosse Pointe Woods HS), Ashley Glover (Grand Rapids/Northview HS), Annika Krygsman (Northbridge, MA/Whitinsville Christian HS), Julie Bratt (Lynden, WA/Lynden Christian HS), Emily Arkus (Tinley Park, IL/Victor J. Andrew HS), Kelly Edwards (Grand Blanc/Grand Blanc HS), Anne Fennema (Brookfield, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran HS), Laura Jackson (Decatur, IL/St. Teresa HS) and Calah Schlabach (St. Michaels, AZ/St. Michaels HS).

Bergstrom will compete in the 400 meters and in the long jump. Bratt is a long jump and triple jump specialist. Glover will join the Calvin throwing rankings as will Krygsman with Glover focusing on the discus and shot put events while Krygsman will focus on the javelin and discus events. DeFauw is a 200 and 400 meter runner and will also compete for spots on Calvin's relay teams. Arkus, Edwards, Fennema, Jackson and Schlabach will all compete in the distance events.

Calvin will again open its outdoor campaign with a spring trip south to Gulf Shores, Alabama. On the way down, the Knights will compete at a March 18 invitational hosted by Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. The Knights will then hit another invitational hosted by Rhodes College on March 25 on the way back. The MIAA season begins on April 1 at Tri-State and concludes with the MIAA Championships scheduled for May 4 and 5 at Albion College. The NCAA III Championships are scheduled to be held on May 25-27 at Illinois Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Wed Mar 15 18:00:08 2006