CSR (Calvin Men's XC Team Wins National Title - Women Third)

November 18, 2006
(A longer report will be send out later today on the national championship performance)

Calvin Men’s Cross Country Captures National Title;
Women Take Third Place

CINCINNATI, OH * The Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams put together an historic performance on Saturday at the NCAA III Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships.

In the men’s race, top-ranked Calvin captured its fourth national championship in the last seven years with a dominating first place score of 37 points. On the women’s side, seventh-ranked Calvin nearly pulled off a double national title as the Knights took third with 149 points, missing a national title by just five points as Amherst (MA) took second with 145 points and Middlebury (CT) won the national title with 144 points.

The team score by the Calvin men is the second-best total in NCAA III Men’s Cross Country history, surpassed only by the 32-point total posted by North Central’s national championship team in 1993. Calvin also matched its own NCAA III record for most All-America finishes in a national meet as six Calvin runners posted top-35 (All-America) finishes.

Leading the way for the Calvin men was senior Tim Finnegan (Los Alamos, NM) who took second place individually with a time of 26:41 on the mud-splattered course at Cincinnati’s Voice of America Park. The finish matches the best-ever individual finish at nationals by a Calvin men’s cross country runner as John Brink was second in 1982, Adam Suarez was second in 1989 and Dan Hoekstra second in 2000. Macharia Yuout of Widener won Saturday’s race with a time of 26:31.
 
Finnegan was part of a 2-5-8-12-16-17-31-51 finish by Calvin as sophomore Jed Christiansen (Greenville, PA) was fifth (26:52); junior Jon Gries (King of Prussia, PA) was eighth (27:08); senior Harrison Jorritsma (Beamsville, ON) was 12th (27:20); sophomore Erik VanKampen (Elmhurst, IL) was 17th (27:21); sophomore Nate DeHaan (Byron Center/South Christian HS) was 31st (27:36) and junior Tad Hulst (Zeeland/Zeeland HS) 51st (28:04). Calvin’s top six finishers were all NCAA III All-Americans.

Calvin is the only program in NCAA III Cross Country history to have posted six All-America finishes at a national meet. Calvin’s 2003 team also achieved the feat at the national meet, producing a 7-8-15-16-27-30 finish.

Third-ranked New York University took second with 92 points, as four members of the NYU team had All-America (top-35) finishes.
                                        
The national title by the Calvin men’s cross country team joins national titles won by its 2000, 2003 and 2004 teams. It is also the eighth national title in Calvin athletics history, joining national titles by its men’s basketball team (1992 & 2000) and women’s cross country team (1998 & 1999).

In the women’s race, Calvin had three All-America finishes led by sophomore Christina Overbeck (Seattle, WA/Bellevue Christian HS) in sixth place (23:09); senior Camille Medema (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) in 13th place (23:21) and senior Lydia Singer (Wilmington, DE/Hillcrest Academy) in 20th place (23:37). All three individuals captured NCAA III cross country All-America honors for the first time in their careers. Overbeck had a stellar last 25 yards

Rounding out Calvin’s finishers were sophomore Calah Schlabach (St. Michaels, AZ/St. Michaels HS) in 70th (24:31); sophomore Lauren Bergstrom (Rochester, MN/Century HS) in 85th place (24:43); sophomore Kelly Edwards (Grand Blanc/Grand Blanc HS) in 202nd place (25:58) and senior Laura Holtrop (Rockville, MD/Chapelgate Christian Academy) in 242nd place (26:36).

The finish by the Calvin women marks its first top-four national finish since 1999 and its eighth top-four national finish overall.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Nov 18 14:12:28 2006