CSR (Hendricks Captures National Title in Heptathlon at NCAA III Championships)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 26, 2006 (PART ONE)\

CALVIN'S CHRISTINE HENDRICKS CAPTURES NATIONAL TITLE IN HEPTATHLON AT NCAA III CHAMPIONSHIPS

LISLE, IL * Calvin senior Christine Hendricks closed out her amazing collegiate career in the best way possible * as a national champion. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio and a graduate of Turpin High School, Hendricks captured the national title in the heptathlon on Friday with an NCAA III Championships record 5,012 points. The total also surpassed her own school mark of 4,894 points set earlier this spring at the Hillsdale Gina Relays.

Hendricks is Calvin's second national champion in the heptathlon and its eighth overall in an individual event. She also closes out her Calvin career as a three-time All-American in the heptathlon as she finished eighth in 2003 and third in 2005 (top eight finishes are All-America finishes).

"The third-place finish last year put me in the mindset that I could do better," said Hendricks. "I was very happy with third place, but I knew that I could build off of that."

Heading into Friday, Hendricks sat in second place with 3,006 points, 57 points behind Hope's Linday Lange. Hendricks retook the lead with a big leap of 18-1 ¼ in the long jump which ranked as the top mark in the event. She followed with a toss of 114-8 in the javelin which stood up as one of the top throws among the competitors as the field was forced to throw into a stiff wind. Hendricks then topped of the afternoon with a personal best time in the 800 meters of 2:27.19.

Heading into Friday, Hendricks felt a case of nervousness sitting in second place. "I knew I still had some work to do," said Hendricks. "When I hit that 18-foot jump on my third attempt, it felt really good. In a heptathlon, you only get three attempts in the field events so it can be very risky to go all out. I felt very blessed to hit that last jump the way I did."

"Christine competed like a champion today," said Calvin women's track and field coach Jong-il Kim. "Her mindset was that she wanted to be a national champion and she went for it with everything she had. Her long jump this morning was a key. Once she hit a jump beyond 18 feet, it took some of the pressure off of her."

Hendricks was one of two All-Americans from the MIAA in the event as Hope's Lange took third with 4,790 points. The All-America berth came in Lange's first national appearance in the event.

"That's an impressive accomplishment," said Hendricks of Lange's third place finish. "She's an incredible athlete and I'm really happy for her. She pushed me to do my best the last two days and I'm thankful for that. I see nothing but great things ahead of her and I expect that she may be standing on top of this (heptathlon) podium in the next year or two."
Hendricks is fourth individual in Calvin women's track and field history to earn All-America accolades in the heptathlon. As a freshman in 2003 Hendricks overlapped with then Calvin senior Annie VanderLaan who went on to win the national title in the event while Hendricks was an All-American herself with an eighth place finish.

"I learned a lot from Annie," said Hendricks. "She was a great mentor to me and she remains a good friend. She called me the other day to wish me well at the national meet which meant a lot."

Receiving valuable instruction from Calvin's talented coaching staff was also a key said Hendricks. "I could not have done it without them," said Hendricks. "I could probably come up with six or seven different (Calvin) coaches who helped me on this journey. When you're trying to learn the heptathlon, you need as much help as you can get and I am so thankful and grateful for all of the instruction I received during my Calvin career."

Hendricks also competed in the trials of the 100 meter hurdles on Friday but did not advance, clocking a time of 14.96 in the event. Calvin sophomore Sarah Wittingen (East Grand Rapids HS) also ran in the trials of the 100 meter hurdles and just missed advancing to Saturday's finals as she had a time of 14.71 which was good for 10th place, one place out of a spot in Saturday's final.

In the women's 400 meter trials, Calvin junior Lisa Winkle (South Christian HS) did advance to Saturday's final, clocking a time of 55.79 which was good for the sixth seed on Saturday.

Calvin junior Katie Bolt (Grand Rapids Christian HS) also competed in the women's high jump and finished 10th (5-4 ¼), two spots out of an All-America berth while senior Camille Medema (Grand Rapids Christian HS) did qualify for Saturday's final in the 800 meters, clocking a time of 2:12.23 that was good for the No. 5 seed for Saturday.

NCAA III INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS FROM CALVIN IN WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

Angie Feinauer, Long Jump, 1993
Holly Breuker, 400 Meter Hurdles, 1996
Betsy Haverkamp, 3,000 meters, 1997
Megan Pierce, 400 Meters, 1999
Megan Pierce, 400 Meters, 2000
Annie VanderLaan, heptathlon, 2003
Christine Hendricks, heptathlon, 2003

NCAA III HEPTATHLON ALL-AMERICANS FROM CALVIN COLLEGE

Becky Kuntzelman, 1993, 5th place
Esther Vahrmeyer, 1994, 6th place
Esther Vahrmeyer, 1996, 7th place
Annie VanderLaan, 2001, 5th place
Annie VanderLaan, 2002, 4th place
Annie VanderLaan, 2003, 1st place
Christine Hendricks, 2003, 8th place

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Fri May 26 19:33:31 2006