CKSR (Track and Field Teams Have Strong Showings at Furniture City Classic/Jordan Brink Named to Capital One Academic All-District Team in Men's Basketball)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 6, 2015

Track and Field Teams Have Strong Showings at Furniture City Classic;
Jordan Brink Named to Capital One Academic All-District Team in Men's Basketball

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

The Calvin men's indoor track and field team put together a strong set of performances to take second at the Furniture City Classic Friday evening at the Cook Track and Field Complex on the campus of Aquinas College. Host Aquinas took first place with 185 points with Calvin second with 142 points, Davenport third with 126 points and Cornerstone fourth with 96 points.

Calvin took first place in six events and used solid depth to build up its second place point total.

Senior Erik Holstege (Keswick, VA/Monticello HS) was a double-winner for the Knights, winning the 60 meter hurdles in a time of 8.30 and the triple jump with a leap of 44-0 1/2. His time in the 60 meter hurdles places him 11th on the current NCAA III indoor track and field qualifying list.

Calvin had a powerful evening of distance performances which was kicked off by a dramatic win by sophomore Nathan VanHaitsma (Olympia, WA/Olympia HS) in the mile run as he kicked down a competitor in the final straightaway to win in a career-best time of 4:25.68.

In the 5,000 meters, Calvin flexed its muscles to sweep the top three spots as freshman Andrew Phillipose (Mount Prospect, IL/John Hersey HS) won hte 5,000 meters in a time of 15:22.56 followed by senior Steven Haagsma (Grandville/Calvin Christian HS) in second (15:24.26) and junior Jonathon Gingrich (Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty HS) third (15:42.75).

In the 3,000 meters, Calvin again took the top three spots led by junior Ethan Anderson (Stillwater, MN/Stillwater Area HS) who took first (8:48.14) followed by sophomore Zac Nowicki (Comstock Park/Calvin Christian HS) in second (8:56.09) and senior Stephen Tubergen (Mount Prospect, IL/John Hersey HS) in third (8:56.30).

In the 800 meters, freshman Ethan Valentine (Mason, OH) cruised to a first place time of 1:58.12.

Another notable achivement was turned in by junior Lucas Wolters (Vincennes, IN/South Knox HS) who took second with a season-best vault of 15-1.

Calvin will now prepare to host its own Calvin Invitational next Saturday inside the Huizenga Tennis and Track Center.

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

The Calvin women's indoor track and field team took third at the Furniture City Classic Friday evening at the Cook Track and Field Complex on the campus of Aquinas College. Cornerstone took first place with 192 points with Aquinas second with 167.5 points and Davenport fourth with 63 points.

Calvin had strong performances in the distance events. An early highlight came in the 5,000 meter run as senior Paige McGahan (Brighton/Brighton HS) took first in 18:47.40 while freshman Kate McClain (Kalamazoo/Kalamazoo Christian HS) took second in a career-best time of 18:58.06.

Calvin continued the momentum in the mile run as junior McKenzie Diemer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) took first (5:06.80) and senior Kate Ardinger (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS) was second (5:08.70). The time by Diemer places her 16th on the NCAA III indoor track and field qualifying list.

In the 3,000 meters, Calvin took the top three spots as sophomore Lauren Strohbehn (Stillwater, MN/St. Croix Prepatory) took first (10:18.81), senior Sarah Danner (Watkins Glen, NY/Charles Dickerson HS) second (10:25.06) and senior Kimby Penning (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) third (10:38.76).

In the throwing events, freshman Bethany Love (Grand Rapids/East Kentwood HS) had a solid showing, placing third in the weight throw (43-5) and fifth in the shot put (37-7 3/4).

Calvin will now prepare to host its own Calvin Invitational next Saturday inside the Huizenga Tennis and Track Center.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Calvin College senior Jordan Brink has been named to the Division III Capital One Academic All-District (VI) men's basketball team.
As a member of the all-district team, Brink is now eligible for Capital One Academic All-America consideration.

A native of Dyer, Indiana, Brink is in the midst of a standout senior campaign. A graduate of Illiana Christian High School, is averaging 19.4 points and 5.9 rebounds a game. He recently moved into 12th place on the Calvin career scoring list and will bring a career total of 1,354 points into Saturday's game against Adrian. He is also ranked fifth on the Calvin career list for three-point field goals (187) and holds the Calvin single-season record for free throw percentage, shooting 95.7 percent from the line during the 2012-13 season. He is currently ranked 12th nationally in free throw percentage for the 2014-15 season, converting 90 percent of his free throw attempts.

Brink was a member of the All-MIAA first team and D3hoops.com Great Lakes All-Region third team in 2014.

This year he has been a two-time MIAA Player of the Week and has been named to the D3hoops.com National Team of the Week once.

This past Wednesday night he scored a game-high 27 points in an 83-77 win over rival Hope, scoring 12 of Calvin's final 17 points.

In the classroom, Brink holds a double major of business marketing and sports management. He is a two-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and was a member of the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) Honors Court last summer. He is currently serving an internship with the Grand Rapids DRIVE professional basketball team -- a D' League affiliate of the Detroit Pistons.
Received on Fri Feb 6 23:56:38 2015