CSR (Calvin Cross Country Teams Prepare for NCAA III Championships)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 15, 2006

CALVIN COLLEGE CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS PREPARES FOR NCAA III CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Calvin College men's and women's cross country teams will depart on
Thursday for Cincinnati, Ohio, where they will compete at the NCAA III
Championships hosted by Wilmington College at Voice of America Park. The
official meet web site can be found at:
http://www2.wilmington.edu/ncaa-cc/index.cfm

The following is a preview of both the Calvin men's and women's teams.

CALVIN MEN'S PREVIEW

Under the direction of head coach Brian Diemer, the Knights will be making
their 14th consecutive appearance at the NCAA III Cross Country Championships
including their 22nd overall which ranks fifth on the all-time NCAA III men's
cross country list. The Knights will head in as heavy favorites as they have
been ranked number-one in every Division III Top-25 poll this year. A year ago
however, Calvin entered the national meet ranked number-one but took second
behind second-ranked Wisconsin-LaCrosse which finished 23 points ahead of the
Knights.

Calvin is again expected to receive a challenge from Wisconsin-LaCrosse on
Saturday with teams from New York University, Cortland State (NY) and North
Central (IL) also expected to be in the mix.

Calvin will be led by senior Tim Finnegan (Los Alamos, NM) who took third at
last year's national meet to garner All-America accolades for the third
straight year. Along Widener senior Macharia Yuout, Finnegan will be attempting
to become one of just 10 individuals in NCAA III men's cross country history to
claim an All-America (top 35 finish) four straight years. Finnegan and Yuout
along with Wisconsin-Oshkosh junior Willy Kaul and Wisconsin-Platteville junior
Tyler Sigl are considered favorites to win Saturday's race. As a freshman in
2003, Finnegan placed 16th at the national meet and then took 28th in 2004 and
third a year ago. Finnegan recently captured his second straight Great Lakes
Regional title and was named Great Lakes Regional Athlete of the Year for the
second consecutive season. For an indepth interview with Finnegan, please
visit his recent Q & A session with Trackshark.com at:
http://www.trackshark.com/blogs/division3blog/667/Interviews%3A+Tim+Finnegan+of+Calvin.html

Calvin also has two other returning All-Americans in senior Harrison Jorritsma
(Beamsville, ON/Smithville District Christian HS) and sophomore Jed
Christiansen (Greenville, PA/Greenville HS). Jorritsma will be making his third
trip to nationals including his second as a member of Calvin's top-seven.
Jorritsma served as Calvin's alternate in 2004 and then posted an All-America
finish in his first national race last November, finishing 35th. Christiansen
will also be running in his second national cross country race. Christiansen
was also an All-American in 2005, finishing 34th.

Also racing for Calvin on Saturday with experience from last year's national
race will be juniors Jon Gries (King of Prussia, PA/Upper Merion HS) and Tad
Hulst (Zeeland/Zeeland HS). Gries placed 55th at the 2005 NCAA III Cross
Country Championships while Hulst was 118th.

Calvin will also have a pair of newcomers competing in their first nationals
competition on Saturday in sophomores Erik VanKampen (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy
Christian HS) and Nate DeHaan (Byron Center/South Christian HS).

In addition, junior Dan VandenAkker (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS) will be
serving as Calvin's alternate this weekend.

CALVIN WOMEN'S PREVIEW

Under the direction of head coach Brian Diemer, the Knights will be making
their second consecutive appearance at the NCAA III Cross Country Championships
including their 17th overall which ranks fourth on the all-time NCAA III
women's cross country list. Calvin will also be making its first nationals
appearance under Diemer who is in his first year as head coach of the Calvin
women's team. A year ago, Calvin took 17th at the NCAA III Championships. This
year, the Knights will come in ranked seventh with the hope of moving up a few
spots with a strong Saturday performance.

Geneseo State of New York is the top-ranked team and considered the favorite to
win the team title.

Calvin will be sending a team that has six runners with nationals experience.
Leading the group will be seniors Camille Medema (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids
Christian HS), Lydia Singer (Wilmington, DE/Hillcrest Academy) and Laura
Holtrop (Rockville, MD/Chapelgate Christian Academy). Medema will be making her
fourth trip to the nationals with her best finish coming in 2003 when she
finished 83rd. Holtrop will be competing at the national meet for the third
time. Her best finish came last fall when she placed 171st. Singer will be
making her second straight trip to the national meet. She placed 68th a year
ago.

Also making their second straight trip to nationals are junior Christina
Overbeck (Seattle, WA/Bellevue Christian HS) and sophomores Calah Schlabach
(St. Michaels, AZ/St. Michaels HS) and Kelly Edwards (Grand Blanc/Grand Blanc
HS. Overbeck was 110th at last year's national meet while Schlabach was 142nd
and Edwards 209th.

Making her first trip to the national meet will be sophomore Lauren Bergstrom
(Rochester, MN/Century HS). Bergstrom was a member of Calvin's MIAA
championship soccer team in 2005 but has made the seamless transition to cross
country this fall, serving as Calvin's fifth finisher in most races. Bergstrom
took 35th at last week's Great Lakes Regional meet.

Also serving as Calvin's alternate on Saturday will be junior Lynn Marsh (North
Vernon, IN/Jennings HS).

Saturday's competition is scheduled to begin with the men's race at 11:00 a.m.
and the women's race to follow at noon.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Wed Nov 15 22:59:54 2006