CSR (Jorritsma and Meckes Named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR JUNE 20, 2006

JORRITSMA AND MECKES NAMED ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS

GRAND RAPIDS * A pair of Calvin athletes have been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American ® Cross Country/Track and Field Teams in the college division.

Senior Harrison Jorritsma has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America 1st team while Nate Meckes has been named to the 3rd team.

The college division includes schools from the NCAA II and III ranks as well as NAIA institutions.

Jorritsma is receiving Academic All-America honors from ESPN The Magazine for the first time while Meckes is receiving the award for the second straight year. Meckes was also a third team selection last spring.

Jorritsma is from Beamsville, Ontario and is a graduate of Smithville District Christian High School. He carries a 4.0 grade point average while majoring in accounting. This past fall on the Calvin men's cross country team, Jorritsma was named to the All-MIAA first team and to the Great Lakes All-Region team, finishing second at the MIAA Championships and 12th at the Great Lakes Regional meet. He then picked up All-America accolades at the NCAA III Championships, finishing in 35th place.

This spring, Jorritsma earned a spot on the All-MIAA track and field team after winning a league title in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. He then qualified for the NCAA III Track and Field Championships in the 10,000 meters where he finished 11th. Jorritsma will return to Calvin in the fall and will use his final season of cross country eligibility.

Meckes was recently graduated from Calvin with a double-major of psychology and physical education while carrying a 3.43 grade point average.

At Calvin, Meckes was a five-time track and field All-American, earning the award three times in the shot put and twice in the discus. He was the national runner-up in the discus in 2005 and the national runner-up in the shot put this past weekend at the NCAA III Track and Field Championships. During his career, Meckes was also a four-time All-MIAA choice and a three-time Great Lakes Regional Athlete of the Year selection. In addition, he was named the MIAA's Most Outstanding Field Event Performer three times in his career. Meckes is the MIAA and Calvin record holder in both the shot put and discus.

Calvin has now had its athletes receive Academic All-America accolades 66 times including 40 times in the last nine years. During the 2005-06 academic year, four Calvin athletes have received Academic All-America honors as Lisa Winkle was a second team pick in women’s basketball and Becky Weima a second team choice in women’s swimming and diving.

The Academic All-America ® Teams program honors 816 male and female student-athletes annually who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA, the College Sports Information Directors of America; a 2,000-member organization consisted of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.

ESPN the Magazine - winner of the 2003 National Magazine Award for Generall Excellence - is a provocative and innovative sports publication. Full of insight, analysis, impact and wit, the oversize bi-weekly with a circulation of 1.85 million looks ahead to give fans a unique perspective on the world of sports.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Tue Jun 20 11:31:10 2006