CSR (Track and Field Teams Capture MIAA Titles/Baseball Splits With Tri-State)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2006

Track and Field Teams Capture MIAA Titles - Four Calvin Athletes Receive MVP Honors;
Baseball Splits with Tri-State - Tied for Fourth With Alma

TRACK AND FIELD
(Written by Annalise VenHuizen '08 & Jeff Febus '92)

ALBION * After a strong performance at the MIAA Field Day yesterday, the Calvin men's and women's track and field teams had enough strength to put forth another powerful showing, each team capturing MIAA Championship Titles. The men won their 13th straight MIAA title this afternoon, while the women won their 16th straight with 347.5 points, the third highest score in MIAA women's history. Calvin also has the top two highest scores at the MIAA Field Day, scoring 353 points at the 2000 meet and 350 points at the 2001 meet.

Setting a new MIAA All-Time record and a new Calvin record in the 100 meter hurdles was sophomore Sarah Wittingen (East Grand Rapids/East Grand Rapids) with time of 14.53, also an NCAA Division III provisional qualifying mark. For the win, Wittingen edged out Hope's Lindsay Lange, who set the previous MIAA All-Time record at 14.57 last season. Wittingen's new Calvin record surpassed the 14.57 mark set by Annie VanderLaan in 2003. Wittingen also captured the 400 meter hurdle title today with a time of 1:03.00.

Junior Lisa Winkle (Grand Rapids/South Christian) took the title in the 400 meter dash with a provisional qualifying time of 57.43. Junior Katie Bolt (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian) was second in the 400 meters (58.70) and freshman Jennifer DeFauw (Gross Pointe/Gross Pointe North) was fourth (58.81). Winkle also took a close second in the 200 meter dash when Hope's Lange beat her out at the finish.

Placing first in both the 800 meter and 1500 meter runs was senior Camille Medema (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian). Medema ran the 800 in 2:18.38 and won the 1500 with a time of 4:47.10.

Calvin had a strong showing in the 5000 meter run as junior Laura Holtrop (Rockville, MD/Chapelgate Christian Academy) took first with a time of 18:45.91, freshman Anne Fennema (Brookfield, WI/Milkwaukee Lutheran) finished in second with a time of 18:53.83, and junior Melissa VandenBerg (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian) took fourth (19:33.81) and freshman Jessi Miller (Colorado Springs, CO/The Classical Academy) was fifth (19:36.20).

The Calvin distance team also gained the top three spots in the 3000 meter steeplechase as junior Lydia Singer (Wilminton, DE/Hillcrest Academy (Nigeria)) was first with a time of 11:26.67, freshman Calah Schlabach (St. Michaels, AZ/St. Michaels) took second (11:27.71), and junior Bethany Hofman (Holland/Holland Christian) finished third (12:18.75).

Both Calvin relay teams took first place, as the 1600 meter relay team of DeFauw, Bolt, Wittingen, and Winkle finished almost six seconds ahead of second place Hope with a provisional qualifying time of 3:56.35, and the 400 meter relay team of junior Lisa Geelhoed (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian), junior Lorilyn Vogel (Orange City, IA/Unity Christian), Wittingen, and Winkle also had a provisional time of 48.39.

In the field events, freshman Julie Bratt (Lynden, WA/Lynden Christian) and Vogel went one-two in the triple jump. Calvin had the top three throws in the shot put as junior Megann VanderVliet (Oakville, ON/Oakville Trafalgar) was first (41'6 ½"), freshman Ashley Glover (Grand Rapids/Northview) placed second (38'9 ½") and senior Christine Hendricks was third (37'10 ¼"). In addition, Hendricks placed first in the javelin with a throw of 121'1".

Hendricks was named the MIAA MVP in the field events for the second straight year, while Wittingen was named the MVP for the running events.

On the men's side, Calvin senior Friebel (Shelby,OH/Shelby) took a close first place in the 200 meter dash (21.87) after a narrow second place finish in the 100 meter dash (10.95). Calvin sophomores Joel Baker (Kalamazoo/Kalamazoo Christian) and Jared Cok (Bozeman, MT/Manhattan Christian) placed second and third in the 400 meter dash with times of 50.49 and 50.57, respectively.

Other first place finishes came from junior Todd Schuster (Denver, CO/Denver Christian), who barely edged out defending champion Aaron Kenemer (Hope) with a first place, season-best time of 1:54.23 in the 800 meters, and sophomore Kelby McClelland (Mercer, PA/Mercer Area), who won both the 110 meter and 400 meter hurdles with season-best times of 15.10 and 54.93.

The Calvin distance took the top spots in both the 5000 meter run and the 3000 meter steeplechase. Freshman Jed Christiansen (Greenville, PA/Greenville) took first in the 5000 meters (15:09.24), while freshman Erik Van Kampen (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian) took second (15:12.05), and sophomore Dan Vanden Akker (Grand Rapids/South Christian) finished third (15:21.38). Senior Harrison Jorritsma (Beamsville, OH/Smithville Christian) placed first in the 3000 meter steeplechase (9:34.59) and Nate DeHaan placed second (9:48.44).

Both Calvin men relay team also took first place. The 400 meter relay team of Friebel, McClelland, Cok, and Baker had a 42.64 finish. In the 1600 meter relay (Schuster, Cok, Friebel, Baker), Calvin had the lead most of the race until Albion's anchor leg evened out with Calvin's fourth runner, Baker, in the last 100 meters of the race. In exciting fashion, Baker pulled away in the final 10 meters to give Calvin the 3:19.41 win.

Finally, in the field events, freshman Michael Buist (Grand Rapids/Calvin Christian) took first place in the high jump competition with a 6'7 ¼" jump. In the discus, senior Nate Meckes (Bay City/Lutheran Westland) had a first place throw of 175'10" and senior Justin Grasmeyer (Norwalk, CA/Valley Christian HS) took second with a 154'10" throw. In addition, sophomore Ryan Jensen (Northview HS) had a big day in the discus, ripping off a career-best throw of 152-11 to take fourth. Field events were a strength for the Knights as they also went 2-5-7 in the pole vault with senior Brian DeKorne (Grand Rapids Christian HS) taking second (13-6), freshman Mike Vandenberg (Grand Rapids Christian HS) fifth (13-0) and senior Chris Becker (Reading, PA) seventh (12-6). The second place finish by DeKorne was significant as it allowed him to become the only athlete at Calvin to score at both the MIAA Field Day and at the MIAA Swimming and Diving Championships this year. DeKorne was 12th i!
n the 200 butterfly at the 2006 MIAA Swimming and Diving Championships.

Nate Meckes was named the league MVP in field events for the third time in his career. Kelby McClelland's first place finishes gained him the MVP award for running events.

WOMEN'S SCORES
Calvin 347.5
Hope 179.5
Albion 122
Alma 51
Olivet 29

MEN'S SCORES
Calvin 284.5
Albion 198.5
Hope 132.5
Tri-State 47
Olivet 37.5
Alma 28
Adrian 10

BASEBALL
(Written by Annalise VenHuizen '08)
Calvin 8, Tri-State 1
Tri-State 4, Calvin 3

TRI-STATE * Calvin split a double-header with conference opponent Tri-State this afternoon, as the Knights went down 4-3 in game two after an 8-1 win in game one. The split twinbill brought Calvin to a 13-13 MIAA record which now stands tied with Alma for fourth place in the conference standings.

The Calvin bats were swinging from the get-go, as Calvin scored six runs off of six hits and in the top of the first inning. Senior Mark Asma (Portage/Kalamazoo Christian) had a lead-off single, which Calvin followed up with a single by senior Tyler Van Eps (Denver,CO/Denver Christian), a walk, and a third single from senior Mike Aggen (Evergreen Park,IL/Evergreen Park Community). Senior Mark Tigchelaar (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian) drove in three RBIs with a two-out double, and crossed the plate on a two-run homerun by sophomore Alex Marcus (Willmar,MN/Willmar Sr.).

Two more runs in the Calvin fourth gave the Knights an 8-0 advantage over Tri-State. Van Eps reached on a single, which junior Nick Caudle (Grandville/Calvin Christian) followed with a two-run homer.

Tri-State gained its only run of the game in the bottom of the fourth, scoring one run off of four hits. The run came as the lead-off batter singled and then scored on a sacrifice fly.

Senior pitcher Andy Draayer (Denver, CO/Denver Christian) held off Tri-State for the rest of the game to gain the win and even his record at 4-4. Marcus was a perfect 2 for 2 from the batter's box and Van Eps was 3 for 4.

In game two, Calvin saw three hits and one run in the second inning as Aggen, senior Kyle Hollemans (Kentwood/East Kentwood), and Tigchelaar hit consecutive singles to start off the inning. Aggen scored on a wild pitch to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.

Tri-State answered back in their half of the second, scoring three rungs off of four hits, including a bunt, a double, and a two singles. Tri-State led 3-1.

Calvin added another run to the board in the fourth inning when sophomore Kyle Fletcher (Fort Wayne, IN/Concordia Lutheran) hit a one-out solo home run to bring Calvin with in one, 3-2.

The Knights tied the game in the top of the seventh when freshman Jacob Vriesman (Denver, CO/Denver Christian) hit a lead-off single and then scored all the way from first on an error after a Van Eps sacrifice bunt.

Not opting for extra innings, Tri-State put an end to game two with one run in the bottom of the seventh, which came by way of two singles and two walks. Tri-State took the game 4-3.

Calvin's freshman Nate Pocock (Wayland,MA/Wayland) (4-5) took the loss for Calvin in game two. Kletcher was 2 for 3 from the plate while Aggen was 2 for 4.

The Knights rest until Monday when they will finish up league play with a home doubleheader against Tri-State at 2:00. Alma will complete league play tomorrow in a doubleheader at Alma against Kalamazoo.

MIAA BASEBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 5-5-06 GAMES

Adrian 21-5
Hope 19-7
Albion 18-8
Alma 13-13
Calvin 13-13
Kalamazoo 9-17
Olivet 9-17
Tri-State 1-23

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Fri May 5 21:36:57 2006