CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 24, 2008
NCAA III TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY THREE REPORT
OSHKOSH, WI -- Calvin College senior Sarah Wittingen realized a dream on the
final day of the NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, winning the
national title in the 400 meter hurdles with a school record time of 59.39.
The national championship was one of three All-America performances that the
East Grand Rapids High School graduate was a part of on Saturday, helping the
Calvin women's track and field team finish in 13th place with 19 points.
Wittingen also placed seventh in the 100 meter hurdles (14.34) and led off
Calvin's fifth place 4x400 meter relay team that clocked in with a season-best
time of 3:46.73.
In winning the 400 meter hurdles title, Wittingen became the eighth individual
in Calvin women's track and field history to win an individual national title.
She also joined 1996 graduate Holly Breuker as one of two 400 meter hurdle
national champions at Calvin as Breuker won the national title in the event in
1996.
Wittingen closes out her outdoor Calvin track and field career as a 10-time
NCAA III All-American.
"I told myself coming in that I would be happy no matter what happened today,"
said Wittingen. "But one of my goals was to win a national championship and to
reach that goal feels incredible."
A year ago, Wittingen took second in the 400 meter hurdles at the national
meet - also held at J.J. Keller Stadium on the campus of the University of
Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Running on the same track Saturday afternoon, Wittingen took
an early lead and then fought off a charge from Frostburg State's Sumer Rohrs
who began closing on Wittingen on the final turn. Wittingen fought off the
challenge by ripping over the second-to-the-last hurdle and continued to create
distance from the rest of the field by gliding over the final hurdle and racing
across the finish line with a stadium record time.
"When I came around the final turn, I knew it was getting close and I told
myself that there was no way I was going to let it slip away," said Wittingen.
"This was my senior year and I was not going to let someone take first place
away from me. Not at that point."
Wittingen's time of 59.39, lopped nearly a half-second off her previous school
mark of 59.96 set at last year's national meet.
Wittingen entered the meet as the top seed in the 400 meter hurdles but
slipped to the second seed behind Rohrs after Thursday's prelims. In the 100
meter hurdles, Rohr captured the national title with a wind-aided time of
13.68. Wittingen took seventh with a season-best time of 14.34.
In the women's 4x400 meter relay, Wittingen was joined by freshman Rachel
Boerner (Bergenfield, NJ), junior Kristen VanSickel (Pittsburgh, PA) and
sophomore Heather Koning (Kalamazoo Christian HS). The fifth place finish by
the Calvin relay team marked the fifth straight year that Calvin claimed
All-America accolades in the event. It also marked the 13th overall All-America
berth in the relay in Calvin women's track and field history.
Heading into the national meet, the relay was seeded sixth. However, the relay
qualified for the national meet with junior Lauren Bergstrom (Rochester, MN) as
a member of the team. With Bergstrom running the 800 and 1500 meters at the
national meet, it was decided to bring Boerner (under allowed NCAA rules) onto
the relay as an alternate. Boerner responded in grand style, running splits of
57.0 flat in both the prelims on Thursday and in Saturday's finals.
"I am proud of all of our relay teams that have been All-Americans but this is
the team that I am the proudest of," said seventh-head Calvin head women's
track coach Dr. Jong-il Kim, "This relay team got the most out of its ability
and showed courage and heart. With a new runner on the team, I was concerned
about making it into the finals but this group responded to the challenge. They
were great."
Kim also had words of praise for Wittingen's national championship performance
in the 400 meter hurdles. "Sarah had great focus and preparation during her
entire senior year," he said. "As a senior, it can be easy to be distracted by
many things but she did not let that happen. She kept her focus on her school
work and her running and today she became a national champion. She is very
deserving of the honor."
Kim also gave credit to Calvin volunteer assistant coach Tony Campbell who
works specifically with Calvin's hurdlers. "Coach Campbell has been a great
blessing to our team the last two years," said Kim. "He deserves a great deal
of credit in helping Sarah become a national champion. He has not only helped
Sarah but also all of our hurdlers. We are fortunate to have him with our
program."
Coming into this weekend, junior Lauren Bergstrom knew she had a lot on her
plate. She had qualified for both the 800 and 1500 meter runs, and according
to middle distance coach Rick Otte, “the goal was to qualify for finals in
both.”
Bergstrom’s objective was to take the NCAA Division III Championships in
stride. “My goal was to get through prelims one day at a time. First was
the 1500 on Thursday, then I checked it off. Then the 800 on Friday, and I
checked that off. Today was the big day, and I had to take it one race at a
time.”
At the end of the day, Bergstrom held two All-American trophies, having placed
7th in the 1500 in 4:31.15 and 8th in the 800 with a time of 2:11.38. She is
the first athlete in MIAA women’s track and field history to double as an
All-American in those two events.
Bergstrom holds the Calvin records in both events, and though her times this
weekend were not personal bests, the demands of the three-day meet put the
accomplishment in perspective and mark it as huge. “She ran her second
fastest 1500 and two of her four fastest 800s in three days,” Otte said.
“Just to qualify in two events is a huge deal,” Otte said. “People
don’t understand how much effort that takes: three days of mentally and
physically preparing yourself and getting exhausted. Then getting off that
stand and having to do it all over again.”
Knowing the incredible demands of a schedule like Bergstrom’s, the coaches
deliberated about whether having her compete in only one of the events would
have been more advantageous. “There’s something magic about placing in the
top three. But I think the athletes understand that even getting on that
podium is amazing. Seeing her face after getting both boxes showed that doing
both races was good,” Otte said.
Bergstrom agreed, saying that running both the 1500 and 800 satisfied her
curiosity. “Pushing myself that far helped open the door to the next step of
the process. I didn’t get the best places, but I had never been to finals in
individual events. This was a huge step for me.”
As Otte and the crowd viewed Bergstrom’s joyful face on the awards stand,
she saw a reminder of the reason for being at nationals. “The first thing I
noticed was the Calvin fans. It made me happy to represent Calvin, and I take
pride in being a part of that,” Bergstrom said. “It’s more than me. God
gave me the talent to do this, and my teammates and coaches were behind me all
the way.”
Also competing for the Calvin women on Saturday was junior Julie Bratt
(Lynden, WA) in the triple jump. Competing in her first-ever national meet,
Bratt took 12th with a jump of 36-11 1/2. In addition, senior Christina
Overbeck (Seattle, WA) competed in the 5,000 meters and took 15th with a time
of 17:44.98.
On the men's side, Calvin junior Jed Christiansen (Greenville, PA) took 11th
with a time of 14:58.01. The Calvin men finished in 51st place with five
points.
CALVIN WOMEN'S NCAA III TRACK AND FIELD INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Angie Feinauer - Long Jump - 1993
Holly Breuker -- 400 Meter Hurdles - 1996
Betsy Haverkamp -- 3,000 Meters -- 1997
Megan Pierce -- 400 Meters -- 1999 & 2000
Lindsay Mulder -- Long Jump -- 2001
Annie VanderLaan -- Heptathlon -- 2003
Christine Hendricks -- Heptathlon -- 2006
Sarah Wittingen -- 400 Meter Hurdles -- 2008
OTHER NCAA III TRACK AND FIELD NOTES
*Wittingen was one of two national champions from the MIAA in 400 meter
hurdles on Saturday as Tri-State sophomore Russell Dill won men's 400 meter
title (51.30). Dill also took sixth in the 110 high hurdles.
*Hope junior Nora Kuiper was an All-American on Saturday in the 100 meters
with a fifth place time of 12.03.
*The Hope women took 20th with 13 points while the Tri-State men took 20th
with 13 points with the Alma men tying Calvin for 51st place with five points.
*Illinois Wesleyan and Wisconsin-River Falls shared the women's national title
with 35 points with Wartburg taking a close third with 34 points. McMurry
University (TX) took home the men's national title in narrow fashion, finishing
with 35 points, two points ahead of runner-up Cortland State of New York and
four points ahead of third place Whitworth University (WA).
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat May 24 19:51:58 2008
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