Calvin Sports Report for May 20, 2006
Calvin Sending 24 to NCAA III Track & Field Championships
The Calvin men's and women's track and field teams will send a combined 24 athletes to the NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field championships this weekend. The Calvin men will send 11 individuals while the Calvin women will send 13.
The national meet will be hosted by Benedictine University just outside Chicago in Lisle, Illinois. The first day of competition is slated for Thursday, May 25. The final day of competition will be held on Saturday, May 27.
A year ago, the Calvin women finished second as a team with 42 points, one point behind national champion Wartburg marking its second straight national runner-up finish. Meanwhile the Calvin men finished sixth with 30 points. The Calvin women have posted 13 consecutive top-20 national finishes and have six top-four national finishes during the span. The Calvin men have posted 11 top-10 national finishes overall including three in the top four.
Both Calvin track and field teams captured MIAA titles this spring with the men winning their 13th straight league crown and the women their 17th straight league title.
A full schedule of this week's NCAA III Track and Field Championships can be found on the Benedictine web site at: http://www.ben.edu/athletics/ncaataf/events.pdf.
Up-to-date meet results will be posted at: www.Raceberryjam.com.
The following is a biographical breakdown of the 24 individuals that will represent Calvin at the national meet this week.
Calvin's National Meet Track Teams
Calvin men
JOEL BAKER--A sophomore from Kalamazoo (Kalamazoo Christian High School), Baker will be making his first trip to the NCAA III Championships. He will compete as a member of Calvin's 4x400 meter relay team which is seeded 10th (3:13.73). An All-MIAA selection this spring, Baker was also a member of Calvin's MIAA championship 4x400 meter and 4x100 meter relay teams, serving as the anchor leg.
MICHAEL BUIST-A freshman from Grand Rapids (Calvin Christian High School), Buist will be making his first trip to the NCAA III Championships. He will compete in the high jump where he is seeded 10th (6-8 ¼). An All-MIAA selection this spring, Buist captured a league title in the high jump at the MIAA Championships earlier this month.
JED CHRISTIANSEN-A freshman from Greenville, Pennsylvania (Greenville High School), Christiansen will be making his first trip to the NCAA III Championships in track and field but is not a stranger to national meet competition as he took 34th at the 2005 NCAA III Cross Country Championships to collect All-America accolades. Christiansen will compete in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meter this weekend. He is seeded 16th in the 5,000 meters (14:41.69) and eighth in the 10,000 meters (30:21.68). Christiansen was the MIAA champion in the 5,000 meters this spring and earned a spot on the All-MIAA track and field team.
JARED COK-A sophomore from Bozeman, Montana (Manhattan Christian High School), Cok is making his first trip to the NCAA III Championships. He will compete as a member of Calvin's 4x400 meter relay team. He was also a member of Calvin's MIAA championship 4x400 meter and 4x100 meter relay teams this spring.
TIM FINNEGAN-A junior from Los Alamos, New Mexico (Home Schooled), Finnegan is making his second straight trip to the NCAA III Championships in track and field. A three-time All-American in cross country, Finnegan is also a two-time All-American in track and field as he placed sixth in the 10,000 meters and eighth in the 5,000 meters at the 2005 NCAA III Championships. Finnegan will compete in both events this weekend. He is seeded seventh in the 10,000 meters (30:20.64) and 13th in the 5,000 meters (14:39.82).
CHRIS FRIEBEL - A senior from Fairborn, Ohio (Fairborn High School), Friebel is making his first trip to the NCAA III Championships. He will compete as a member of Calvin's 4x400 meter relay team. Friebel landed a spot on the All-MIAA track and field team earlier this month after winning the league title in the 200 meters for the second time in three years. He also ran on Calvin's MIAA championship 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay teams.
HARRISON JORRITSMA - A senior from Beamsville, Ontario (Smithville District Christian High School), Jorritsma is making his first trip to the NCAA III Championships in track and field. This fall, he ran at the NCAA III Cross Country Championships and earned All-America honors with a 35th place finish. Jorritsma will compete this weekend in the 10,000 meters where he is seeded 13th (30:48.13). At the MIAA Championships earlier this month, Jorritsma took first place in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and earned a spot on the All-MIAA team.
KELBY MCCLELLAND - A sophomore from Mercer, Pennsylvania (Mercer Area High School), McClelland is making his first trip to the NCAA III Championships and will serve as an alternate on Calvin's 4x400 meter relay team. McClelland was named the MIAA's Most Outstanding Runner this spring after winning league titles in the 110 high hurdles and 400 meter hurdles. He also earned a spot on the All-MIAA team.
JOSH MECKES-A junior from Bay City City, Michigan (Saginaw Lutheran High School), Meckes will be making his third straight trip to the national meet and will compete in the long jump for the third straight year. Meckes is seed third in the long jump (24-2). He was also the MIAA champion for the second straight year in the long jump this spring and landed a spot on the All-MIAA team for the third straight year.
NATE MECKES-A senior from Bay City, Michigan (Lutheran Westland High School), Meckes is making his third trip to the NCAA III Championships. He will compete in the shot put where he is the top seed (58-8 ¾) and in the discus where he is the fourth seed (184-6). Meckes is a four-time All-American including a two-time All-American in both the shot put and discus. At the 2003 NCAA III Championships, Meckes took sixth in the discus and fourth in the shot put. At the 2005 NCAA III Championships, Meckes took second in the discus and fourth in the shot put. His second place throw of 194-10 was the second best throw in NCAA III track and field history and qualified him for the USTAF Championships last summer. Meckes also captured the MIAA title in the shot put for the fourth straight year earlier this month and picked up his third league crown in the discus. He also landed a spot on the All-MIAA team for a fourth time and was voted the MIAA's Most Outstanding Field Event Performer f!
or the third time.
TODD SCHUSTER-A junior from Denver, Colorado (Denver Christian High School), Schuster will compete as a member of Calvin's 4x400 meter relay team this weekend. He is making his first trip to the NCAA III Championships. Schuster picked up All-MIAA honors in track and field this spring after winning a league title in the 800 meters.
Calvin women
LAUREN BERGSTROM-A freshman from Rochester, Minnesota (Century High School), Bergstrom is making her first trip to the NCAA III Championships. She will compete on Calvin's 4x400 meter relay team that is seeded second with a time of 3:49.38.
KATIE BOLT - A junior from Grand Rapids (Grand Rapids Christian High School), Bolt is making her second trip to the NCAA III Championships. She will compete on Calvin's 4x400 meter relay team and in the high jump where she is seeded ninth (5-7). Bolt was an All-American in the event at the 2004 (outdoor) national meet, taking sixth place. Earlier this spring, she captured the MIAA title in the high jump and landed a spot on the All-MIAA team for a third straight year. She was also a member of Calvin's MIAA championship 4x400 meter relay team.
JENNIFER DEFAUW-A freshman from Grosse Pointe (Grosse Pointe North High School), DeFauw is making her first trip to the NCAA III Championships and will serve as an alternate on Calvin's 4x400 meter relay team. DeFauw was a member of Calvin's MIAA championship 4x400 meter relay team this spring.
LISA GEELHOED-A junior from Grand Rapids (Grand Rapids Christian High School), Geelhoed is making her first trip to the NCAA III Championships and will run on Calvin's 4x100 meter relay team that is seeded 15th (48.26). Geelhoed was a member of Calvin's MIAA championship 4x100 meter relay team this spring.
CHRISTINE HENDRICKS-A senior captain from Cincinnati, Ohio (Turpin High School), Hendricks is making her fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA III Championships. A two-time All-American in the heptathlon, Hendricks is the top seed in the event (4,894 points). As a freshman in 2003, she placed eighth and followed with a ninth place finish in the heptathlon in 2004 and then took third in 2005. She is also scheduled to compete in the 100 hurdles where she is seeded 20th (14.70). Earlier this month, Hendricks was named the MIAA's Most Outstanding Field Event Performer for the second straight year and landed a spot on the All-MIAA team for a fourth straight year. She is also a three-time MIAA champion in the javelin.
CAMILLE MEDEMA-A junior from Grand Rapids (Grand Rapids Christian High School), Medema is making her second straight trip to the NCAA III Championships. She will compete in the 800 meters where she is seeded second (2:10.31). Medema also qualified in the 800 last year and narrowly missed advancing to the championship finals. At the MIAA Championships earlier this month, she captured league titles in the 800 and 1,500 meters and landed a spot on the All-MIAA team for a third time.
CHRISTINA OVERBECK-A sophomore from Seattle, Washington (Bellevue Christian High School), Overbeck is making her first trip to the NCAA III Championships. She will compete in the 10,000 meters where she is seeded 15th (36:50.10). Overbeck does have experience at a national competition as she ran as a member of the Calvin women's cross country team at the 2005 NCAA III Cross Country Championships and was Calvin's second finisher. Overbeck was the league champion at the MIAA Championships earlier this month and landed a spot on the All-MIAA team.
LYDIA SINGER - A junior from Wilmington, Delaware (Hillcrest Academy of Jos, Nigeria), Singer is making her second straight trip to the NCAA III Championships. She will again compete in the 3,000 meter steeplechase where she is seeded 15th (10:56.92). At the 2005 NCAA III Championships, Singer took 14th in the steeplechase. She also captured the MIAA title in the event for a second straight year at the MIAA Championships earlier this month and landed a spot on the All-MIAA team for a second straight year.
MISSY SMITH-A senior captain from Grand Rapids (Grand Rapids Christian High School), Smith is making her fourth straight trip to the NCAA III Championships in the pole vault where she is seeded fourth in the event (12-6 3/4). A two-time All-American in the pole vault, Smith took fourth at the 2004 NCAA III Championships and fifth at the 2005 national meet. She is also a three-time MIAA champion in the pole vault and a four-time All-MIAA selection. She captured the league crown in the pole vault earlier this month with a league record vault of 12-6.
MEGANN VANDERVLIET - A junior from Oakville, Ontario (Oakville Trafalger High School), VanderVliet is making her third straight trip to the NCAA III Championships. She will compete in both the shot put and discus. She is seeded 10th in the shot put (45-0 ¼) and 13th in the discus (142-2). At the 2005 NCAA III Championships, she garnered All-America honors with a third place finish in the shot put. She was also the MIAA Champion in the shot put and discus this spring and landed a spot on the All-MIAA team for a second straight year.
LORILYN VOGEL-A junior from Orange City, Iowa (Unity Christian High School of Northwest Iowa), Vogel is making her first trip to the NCAA III Championships. She will compete as a member of Calvin's 4x100 meter relay team. A two-time All-MIAA selection, Vogel holds the MIAA record in the triple jump and was a member of Calvin's MIAA Championship team in the 4x100 meter relay this spring.
LISA WINKLE-A junior captain from Grand Rapids (Grand Rapids South Christian High School), Winkle is making her third straight trip to the NCAA III Championships. She will compete in the long jump and 400 meters and as a member of Calvin's 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay teams. She is seeded eighth in the 400 meters (56.32) and 18th in the long jump (18-6). Winkle has been a part of three All-America relay teams at Calvin. In 2004, she was part of 4x100 team that took fourth and a 4x400 team that took third. In 2005, she was part of a 4x400 team that took fourth. She also competed in the 400 meters in 2005 and posted the ninth-best time but did not advance to the finals. A two-time All-MIAA selection, Winkle captured her second straight MIAA title in the long jump earlier this month and added a league title in the 400 meters. She was also a member of Calvin's MIAA championship 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay teams.
SARAH WITTINGEN-A sophomore from East Grand Rapids (East Grand Rapids High School), Wittingen is making her second straight trip to the NCAA III Championships. She will compete in the 100 meter hurdles and 400 meter hurdles and as a member of Calvin's 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay teams. She is seeded fourth in the 100 meter hurdles (14.32) and 11th in the 400 meter hurdles (1:02.68). This past weekend, she established a new Calvin record in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.32 at the North Central Invitational. Wittingen was a member of Calvin's All-America 4x400 meter relay team last year and also qualified in the 100 meter hurdles and 400 meter hurdles. Earlier this month, she claimed league titles in both hurdle events and was a member of Calvin's MIAA championship 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay team. She was then named the MIAA's Most Outstanding Runner and landed a spot on the All-MIAA team for a second straight year.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sun May 21 21:39:51 2006
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