CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 17, 2010 (Part Two)
Track and Field Teams Pull Out Victories at MIAA Jamboree
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
OLIVET -- Faced with another stern challenge from rival Hope College, the Calvin men's and women's track and field teams dug down deep to claim first place victories at the MIAA Jamboree on Saturday at Olivet College. The Calvin men's track and field team took first place with 952.5 points, 7.5 points ahead of Hope. On the women's side, Calvin recorded a first place score of 974.5 points, 35 points ahead of Hope. Saturday's MIAA Jamboree is worth 50 percent of the final MIAA title. The upcoming MIAA Field Day scheduled for May 6 and 7 at Alma College will make up the remaining 50 percent.
Saturday's competition marked the second consecutive nailbiting MIAA Jamboree against Hope. A year ago, Calvin took first place at the MIAA Jamboree, finishing just 6.5 points ahead of the Flying Dutchmen.
"Everyone on both of our teams understood that in order to win today, they would have to do it together," said first-year Calvin track and field coach Bret Otte. "They knew they would have to focus and dig down throughout the entire meet. That is a difficult thing to do but both of our teams kept that focus and performed admirably."
In the men's competition, the meet came down the final event - the 4x400 meter relay. In order to win the meet, Calvin need to remain within two places of Hope's relay team. Hope won the race in 3:22.91 but Calvin stayed close behind, finishing second in 3:24.56 to clinch the overall meet victory.
"On paper, we had Hope winning the (men's) meet by 15 points," said Otte. "I have to credit our men though because they came ready to compete for the win. They scraped and clawed for every point and it made all the difference in the world."
Otte pointed out performances by seniors Caleb Rottman (Fargo, ND) and Tim Buiten (Kent, WA) as examples. Rottman took second in the 110 high hurdles (15.51) and then raced over to the high jump competition where he proceeded to crank out a career-best jump of 6-7 1/2 that was good for second place and good for an NCAA III provisional qualifying mark. Buiten meanwhile stepped up and delivered in the javelin, passing a Hope competitor by one centimeter with his final throw, finishing third with a season-best throw of 164-7.
"Those are the kind of examples that were going around all day with our team," said Otte. "Everyone stepped up and did their part."
Buiten was part of a 1-3 Calvin finish in the javelin that was highlighted by a career-best and NCAA III provisional qualifying throw of 195-10 by junior Joel Klingenberg (Hamilton, ON). Klingenberg also won the discus with a throw of 146-0. In the shot put, freshman Aaron Meckes (Bay City) took first place with a throw of 48-8. In the men's hammer throw, junior Karl Falk (Placerville, CA) took third with a solid throw of 138-1.
The distance events were another strength for the Calvin men as the Knights wept the top three spots in the 10,000 meters, 5,000 meters and 3,000 meter steeplechase. In the 10K, senior Tim Langenberg (Grand Ledge HS) was first (32:36.18), sophomore Dann Kerr (Petoskey HS) second (32:45.71), junior Jake Christiansen (New Ipswich, NH) third (32:46.62) and senior Kyle Mast (Holland Christian HS) fourth (32:46.78). In the men's 5K, sophomore Nick Kramer (Dyer, IN) took first (15:18.84), junior Ben VanWyk (Sussex, NJ) second (15:19.53) and freshman Matt VanderRoest (Ann Arbor Huron HS) third (15:23.98). In the steeplechase,
senior Aaron Goodman (Milwaukee, WI) took first (9:32.00) while VanWyk was second (9:33.07) and senior George Visser (Winfield, IL) third (9:41.12).
Senior Kelby McClelland (Mercer, PA) also had a big day, winning the 110 high hurdles (15.00) while placing fourth in the 400 meter hurdles (59.58). Other notables included senior Brad Stroner (Lakewood-Lake Odessa HS) placing third in the 200 meters (23.10), sophomore Carson Sterchi (Crystal Lake, IL) placing second in the 800 meters (1:57.21), junior Alex Wrobel (Arden Hills, MN) placing second in the 1500 meters (4:01.68) while Kramer was third (4:02.11), sophomore Kyle Ramthum (Dearborn) taking third in the 400 meter hurdles (59.18), freshman Kyle Jasperse (Escondido, CA) placing second in the triple jump (44-10 1/4) and fourth in the long jump (20-8 1/2). Calvin's 4x400 meter relay team that clinched the meet also consisted of Stroner, sophomore Thad Winkle (South Christian HS), Sterchi and senior Zach Vanderlaan (Holt Central Lutheran HS).
In the women's competition, Otte cited the performance of senior Katie Roelofs (Grand Rapids, Mich.) as an example of the Knights digging down deep. Roelofs took second in the 400 meters (1:00.68) and immediately ran to the starting line of the 100 meter dash - the next event on the track. Roelofs proceeded to score key points in the 100 meters, finishing seventh in a time of 13.34. Roelofs also took fifth in the 200 meters (27.67) and ran on Calvin's second place 4x100 meter relay team (50.83) and on Calvin's first place 4x400 meter relay team (4:05.74). "Katie had a busy day," said Otte. "She was willing to do whatever it took to help the team but that was the attitude of everyone on our team. They were committed to doing this for each other."
Junior Sarah Reasoner (Cambridge, MN) also had a huge day, winning the shot put (41-11 1/2) and discus (146-5). Both marks met NCAA III provisional qualifying standards. In the javelin throw, junior Kim Wigboldy (Chandler, AZ) took second (110-3) while junior Leigha Oberle (Grand Rapids Christian HS) was fourth in the hammer throw (114-9).
In the distance events, Calvin piled up the points, going 1-2-3 in the 10,000 meters, 5,000 meters, 3,000 meter steeplechase and 1500 meters. In the 10K, senior Jesi (Gallup, NM) was first (39:01.00), with senior Sarah Dugan (Freeland HS) second (39:04.00) and senior Jessica Koster (Grand Rapids Christian HS) third (39:11.50). In the 5K, senior Mary Tolsma (Hawthorne, NJ) was first (17:58.38), senior Elizabeth Smit (Kirkland, WA) second (17:59.24) and senior Jessica Koster (Grand Rapids Christian HS) third (18:00.23). In the steeplechase, freshman Alyssa Penning (Grand Rapids Christian HS) had a career-best effort in winning with a time of 11:22.19 while senior Gretchen Braymer (Erie, PA) was second (11:29.33) and senior Nicole Farr (Wheaton, IL) third (11:36.38). In the 1500 meters, Smith was first (4:51.07), sophomore Jodi Hoekstra (Homer Glen, IL) second (4:52.56) and sophore Rebecca Hiemstra (Dusseldorf, Germany) third (4:54.39).
Other first place performances for the Calvin women included junior Rachel Boerner (Bergenfield, NJ) in the 100 meters (12.44) and 400 meter hurdles (1:05.68), sophomore Kaitlin Diemer (South Christian HS) in the 800 meters (2:20.60), senior Casey Herman (Libertyville, IL) in the pole vault (10-0) and junior Rebekah VanDyk (Bellflower, CA) in the high jump (5-3 3/4).
In addition to Roelofs, Calvin's 4x400 meter relay team consisted of Diemer, sophomore Jordan Gabrielse (Unity Christian HS) and Boerner. Gabrielese added a third place finish in the long jump (16-1 1/4), a second place finish in the 400 meter hurdles (1:05.82) and a fifth place finish in the 100 meter hurdles (16.78).
Other notable performances included senior Carla Lindemulder (Lansing, IL) placing second in the pole vault (10-0), senior Kristen Fletcher (Fort Wayne, IN) taking third in the 800 meters (2:23.83), sophomore Kelly Peterson (Ramsey, MN) placing third in the triple jump (34-2), junior Leigha Oberle (Grand Rapids Christian HS) taking fourth in the hammer throw (114-9) and freshman Carissa Verkaik (Holland Christian HS) placing third in the high jump (4-11 3/4).
Both Calvin track and field teams will prepare to compete at the Hillsdale Gina Relays this coming weekend.
Received on Sat Apr 17 23:57:51 2010
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