CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 11, 2006 (PART TWO)
Calvin Cross Country Teams Punch Tickets to National Meets With Strong Regional Performances
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
HANOVER, IN * The nationally-ranked Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams punched their tickets to next week’s national meet with strong performances at Saturday’s Great Lakes Regional meet hosted by Hanover College.
The top-ranked Calvin men’s team put on a dominating performance in winning the regional meet with a score of 17 points as the Knights took the top four spots including five of the top seven. The regional title is the 10th consecutive crown for the Calvin men’s team.
In the women’s race, seventh-ranked Calvin was nipped by Case Western Reserve as the Spartans took first with 53 points, four points ahead of the Knights. Calvin still grabbed an automatic berth to next week’s national meet at Cincinnati’s Voice of America Park as the top two teams in each race earned automatic bids to the national meet.
In the men’s race, Calvin senior Tim Finnegan (Los Alamos, NM) captured the regional title for the second straight year along with Great Lakes Regional Athlete of the Year honors as he took first place in a time of 25:25. Finnegan ran in a tight pack of four as sophomore teammate Jed Christiansen (Greenville, PA) was second in 25:29, Calvin junior Jon Gries (King of Prussia, PA) was third in 25:33 and senior Harrison Jorritsma (Beamsville, ON) fourth in 25:38.
The surprise of the race for Calvin came from sophomore Erik VanKampen (Elmhurst, IL) who stepped up to serve as Calvin’s fifth finisher, placing seventh individually in a time of 25:50. Junior Tad Hulst (Zeeland HS) was the next finisher for the Knights, placing 12th in 26:04 while Calvin sophomore Nate DeHaan (South Christian HS) was 14th in 26:06.
All seven Calvin runners earned spots on the Great Lakes All-Region team. Hope senior Ryan TerLouw also gained an automatic berth to next week’s national meet by finishing fifth individually in 25:44. TerLouw’s Hope team could also gain an at-large berth to the national meet as the Flying Dutchmen took fifth as a team with 152 points. Teams that finish in the top five at regional meets that do not earn automatic qualifying berths will be considered for at-large berths with the announcement of the national field set for Sunday evening.
The performance by the Calvin men served as a big confidence booster for the Knights according to head coach Brian Diemer. “Tad Hulst has been our fifth man this year and he fell back a little today,” said Diemer. “Tad still finished strong but the exciting thing is the way Erik VanKampen and Nate DeHaan supported him when he fell back from our lead pack. Not only did they support him, but Erik stepped up and ran a fabulous race. He had great rhythm and finished with a flourish.”
According to Al Hoekstra, who shares the men’s coaching duties with Diemer, the key as to avoid any missteps that might open cracks for the rest of the nation for next week. “I think our guys realize that in years when we run well at the regional meet, we also perform very well at the national meet and they stepped up to the challenge today,” said Hoekstra. “Last year we showed a few cracks in our lineup and it hurt our confidence the following week. This year, one our top five fell back a bit and did not make a difference because our depth showed up with VanKampen and DeHaan. That is a huge confidence booster for next week.”
In the women’s race, Calvin’s top four runners had strong performances but Calvin’s lack of depth at the back of its pack showed up on Saturday, allowing Case Western Reserve to sneek past the Knights.
Calvin placed four runners in the top seven led by senior Camille Medema (Grand Rapids Christian HS) who was fourth in 22:15. She was followed by Calvin junior Christina Overbeck (Seattle, WA) in fifth place (22:21), sophomore Calah Schlabach (St. Michaels, Arizona) in sixth place (22:31) and senior Lydia Singer (Wilmington, DE) in seventh place (22:32).
Calvin’s fifth runner was sophomore Lauren Bergstrom (Century, MN) who placed 35th in 23:48. Bergstrom ran in Calvin’s top five early on but fell back because of breathing problems.
Rounding out Calvin’s finishers were sophomore Kelly Edwards (Grand Blanc HS) in 42nd place (24:09) and senior Laura Holtrop (Derwood, MD) in 50th place (24:21).
“Our top four really put on a clinic in how to run as a pack,” said Diemer who is in his first year as head coach of the Calvin women’s team. “They did an incredible job of working together and I’m excited about their chances for next week.”
Diemer also feels that the Knights have what it takes to close the gap at its number-five spot.
“Lauren Bergstrom is in his first year of college cross country so she is learning new things in every race,” said Diemer. “She’s had a cold this week and I think she went out a little too quickly which forced her to fall back in the middle of the race. I’m confident that a little change of strategy with Lauren and our sixth and seventh runners can yield different results next week. The big thing is that we advanced to next week’s national meet. We feel if we make a few adjustments, then we can do some exciting things as a team at the national meet.”
Medema, Overbeck, Schlabach, Singer and Bergstrom all earned sports on the Great Lakes All-Region team which are awarded to finishers in the top-35.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Nov 11 17:12:58 2006
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