CALVIN SPECIAL SPORTS REPORT FROM NCAA III CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
(Stories written by Calvin Sports Information Student Assistant Colin McWhertor)
Men’s Cross Country Captures Third National Title In Four Years Behind Six All-America Performances
Mason, OH*Six All-American finishes propelled the Calvin College men’s cross country team to its fourth National Championship in NCAA III history and the school’s third championship in four years. Calvin’s first Championship was in 2000. Calvin finished with one of the most dominant performances in the history of the Championship amassing only 37 points in coasting to a 55 point victory.
Lead by head coaches Al Hoekstra and Brian Diemer, Calvin pushed through terrible course conditions at Voice of America Park north of Cincinnati to hold up its number one ranking. Diemer knew that Calvin was the favorite to win but the conditions forced his team to rise to the occasion. “It was unbelievable,” said Diemer, “the way they had to run through the mud and standing water was a tough assignment. They put it all together and worked so well as a team to come out on top. To have six All-Americans on a sloppy day is incredible*they made moves and made cuts all day long to get into the position to win.
Hoekstra was very pleased with the response of his talented team. “In absolutely horrible conditions the guys ran through it. They had no other choice, this was one of the best performances ever in D-III,” he said. Hoekstra said the conditions had been an issue coming into the day, “We talked about the conditions all week,” he said, “we knew it was going to be bad and that is why I am so proud of these guys, they fought through it.” Hoekstra was adamant that Calvin runners had an extra push to them today, “We all looked into each other’s eyes and knew that we were not going to give up, it’s a testament to the type of men and women that Calvin is producing--they are prepared for anything.”
Calvin was led, as usual, by senior Tim Finnegan. Finnegan finished in second place to earn his fourth consecutive All-American award, besting his previous best finish of third place last year. Finnegan, from Los Alamos, New Mexico, finished with a time of 26:41, only 10 seconds behind champion Macharia Yuot of Widener. Yuot also finished as a four-time All-American. Finnegan and Yuot are two of only 11 four-time All-Americans in NCAA III Men’s Cross Country history.
“Tim Finnegan is amazing,” said Hoekstra. “The consistency and leadership that he exudes is incredible. He has three National Championships in four years!” Diemer followed that up saying “Finnegan did what he always does; we’ve come to expect great performances like this from that young man.”
Calvin’s depth proved to once again separate them from their opponents. Sophomore Jed Christensen (Greenville, PA) placed fifth overall with a time of 26:52 to claim his second straight All-American award after finishing 34th last year. Junior Jon Gries (King of Prussia, PA) won his first All-American award by finishing 12th with a time of 27:08. Also winning his second straight All-American award was senior Harrison Jorritsma (Beamsville, ON), who placed 16th Saturday with a time of 27:20 after claiming 35th in 2005. Sophomore Erik Van Kampen (Elmhurst, IL) was right behind Jorritsma in 17th place with a time of 27:21, registering his first All-American award. Sophomore Nate DeHaan (Byron Center) was the sixth Calvin All-American, clocking in at 27:36 for a 31st place finish. Calvin’s seventh runner on the day was junior Tad Hulst (Zeeland, MI), who finished in 51st place with a time of 28:04.
Hoekstra praised all his runners for their great performance. “Our seventh runner was 51st in the country!” he said. “This team has performed so exceptionally all year and the capped it off today. They ran for each other, their school, and the Lord. It was simply magnificent”
The closest team o Calvin’s 37 points was New York University, who finished with 92 points. Allegheny finished third nationally and St, Johns (MN) took the award for fourth place.
Women’s Cross Country Team Surprises Field For Third Place Finish * Nearly Wins National Title
Mason, OH*The Calvin College women’s cross country followed up an impressive performance by the men’s team by storming into contention in women’s NCAA III Championship. Calvin finished third in the nation with 149 points, only five points behind first place Middlebury, who beat out second-place Amherst by just one point.
Running on an already wet and muddy course that had been run over by the men’s race moments earlier, Calvin took advantage and placed nationally. Calvin had three runners win All-American honors.
First year head coach Brian Diemer was ecstatic with the performances. “The women were so strong,” he said, “Mentally and physically, they gave it all they had. They fed off each other and were determined. The last one thousand was simply wonderful to see them all passing people and claiming third place together.”
Calvin was led by junior Christina Overbeck, a native of Seattle, Washington who had a career day to finish in sixth place overall with a time of 23:09. Overbeck passed three runners in the final 25 meters of the race for her sixth place finish.
“I am so proud of Christina,” said Diemer. “She had a great rhythm from the beginning and then was able to have so much left in the end to make those moves.”
Men’s co-head coach Al Hoekstra was delighted to see Overbeck excel the way she did. “Christina was a Tiger out there today. She was embracing the competition, we have been working on getting her to explode on the course and she did it today. She even had enough left to take a couple extra spots at the end; it was a pure joy to watch.”
Two Calvin seniors came in second and third on the team in their final competitions. Camille Medema (Grand Rapids, MI), placed 13th for her first All-American finish of her career with a time of 23:21. Lydia Singer was not far behind her, finishing 20th with a time of 23:27 to also claim her first All-American honor.
“Those two really helped lead this team,” said Diemer. “Camille grew this year to the point where she believed she could win All-American. Lydia worked so hard; she was solid and determined. They both believed in themselves and came away with an incredible last race.”
Sophomore Calah Schlabach (St. Michaels, AZ) was Calvin’s fourth runner, placing 70th at 24:31 and she was followed by sophomore Lauren Bergstrom, who placed 85th with a time of 24:43 to finish Calvin’s top five. Sophomore Kelly Edwards came in 6th for Calvin and 202nd overall with a time of 25:58 and senior Laura Holtrop, a four year member of the varsity at Calvin, placed 242nd with a time of 26:36.
Hoekstra believed it was the composure of the women that sealed the third place finish. “A lot of runners could have used the poor conditions today as an excuse to fold and not have a great day,” he said. “These runners would not do that and because they ran just as hard today they were rewarded, it is great to see.”
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Nov 18 19:57:26 2006
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