CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 30, 2015
Track and Field Teams Grab Day One Leads at MIAA Championships;
Tennis Teams Fall in MIAA Tournament Semis;
Brink and Verkaik Receive BCAM Academic All-State Honors
MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
ALBION - The Calvin men's track and field team has grabbed a 25 point lead through one day of competition at the MIAA Championships held on the campus of Albion College. The Knights hold a first place total of 70 points with the hard-charging Thunder of Trine University in second with 45 points.
The Knights had a stellar opening day that included three individual titles as well as several strong performances in the running prelims.
Senior Erik Holstege (Keswick, VA/Monticello HS) led the way by winning the long jump with a leap of 22-2 ½ while also posting the top time in the 110 high hurdle prelims (15.40) and placing seventh in the shot put (43-4 ¼).
In the pole vault, junior Lucas Wolters (Vincennes, IN/South Knox HS) repeated as league champion, winning with a vault of 15-1. Wolters was part of a 1-3-4-5 Calvin finish as sophomore Nathan Marcus (Holland/Holland Christian HS) was third (14-5 ¼), junior Collin Martin (Leslie/Leslie HS) fourth (13-9 ¼) and freshman Jacob Stout (Escondido, CA/Escondido Calvin Christian HS) fifth (13-5 ¼).
In the 10,000 meters, senior Jonathan Gingrich (Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty HS) claimed an MIAA title with a career-best time of 32:17.17. Gingrich was part of a 1-2-6-7 Calvin finish in the race as sophomore Jordan Kramer (Pewaukee, WI/Lake Country Lutheran HS) was second (32:33.68), freshman Mark DeJong (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) sixth (32:47.57) and sophomore Andrew Rylaarsdam (Grandville/Calvin Christian HS) seventh (32:52.14).
Calvin also picked up points from sophomore Jon Cok (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the long jump as he placed fourth (21-1 ½).
In the javelin, junior David Dadzie (Accra, Ghana/Ghana International School) was fourth (159-10).
Calvin had a strong day in the prelims of the hurdles. Holstege was part of four Knights that qualified for the finals in the 110 high hurdles. In the 400 meter hurdles, Calvin also qualified three individuals led by junior Joel Ooms (Demotte, IN/Illiana Christian HS) who had the top time out of the prelims in 57.09.
In addition, Calvin advanced three individuals into the finals of the 400 meter dash led by freshman Ethan Valentine who claimed the top seed with a season-best time of 48.62.
"We had a great first day," said Calvin head track and field coach Bret Otte. "We did everything we could do that we could control. We are in a position to compete for the title tomorrow. Trine is also in very good position and we will have to be at our highest performance level tomorrow to come out on top. That's what competition is all about and that is all you can ask for as a coach or athlete."
Action continues tomorrow with field events beginning at 10 a.m. and running event finals set to begin at 1:30 p.m.
DAY ONE TEAM SCORES
Calvin 70
Trine 45
Adrian 31
Hope 30
Albion 11
Olivet 8
WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
ALBION - The Calvin women's track and field has moved out to a sizable first day lead at the MIAA Championships on the campus of Albion College.
The Knights have a day one team score of 91.5 points with Hope in second with 55.83 points.
Calvin had three individual titles on Thursday led by senior Christina Geating (Abington, PA/Abington HS) who won the high jump (5-1 ¾) and repeated as league champion for the third consecutive year in the pole vault (10-9).
In the discus, sophomore Michaela Meckes (Bay City/Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS) became the fourth member of her family to win an MIAA track and field title as she took first place with a heave of 122-8. Her older brothers Nate, Josh and Aaron Meckes were all MIAA track and field champions. Nate was a four-time league champion in the shot put and a three-time champion in the discus. Aaron was a league champion in the shot put and a two-time champion in the discus while Josh was a two-time champion in the long jump. Combined, the Meckes family has now produced 13 individual MIAA titles.
Michaela Meckes was part of a 1-4-5 Calvin finish in the discus as junior Stacie Mead (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Eastern HS) was fourth (117-5) and junior Emily Veenstra (Ellsworth/Ellsworth HS) fifth (117-4).
Mead had a huge day in the hammer throw, taking fourth with a school record throw of 149-7, breaking the previous Calvin record of 144-6 set by Carrie Zatarga in 2004. Freshman Bethany Love (Kentwood/East Kentwood HS) also took sixth in the hammer with a throw of 135-5.
In the long jump, Calvin had three individuals score with freshman Anita VanderMeulen (Ann Arbor/Ann Arbor Skyline HS) taking second (17-0 ¾), junior Maria Steblay (Eden Prairie, MN/Eden Prairie HS) taking fourth (16-8) and freshman Autumn Rooks (Holland/Holland Christian HS) taking seventh (16-2 ¾).
In the pole vault, Geating was part of a 1-2-5 Calvin finish with freshman Sarah Bradley (Wheaton, IL/Wheaton North HS) taking second (10-9 on attempts) and junior Daisy Peters (Homer Glen, IL/Lockport HS) placing fifth (9-6 ¼).
Sophomore Bethany VanEck (Clifton, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) also tied for sixth in the high jump (4-10 ¼).
In the 10,000 meters, Calvin went 3-4-8 with sophomore Hope Gaffner (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) taking third (37:31.82), sophomore Jessica Mulder (Holland/Holland Christian HS) placing fourth (38:39.80) and freshman Kate McLain (Kalamazoo/Kalamazoo Christian HS) placing eighth (Kalamazoo/Kalamazoo Christian HS) in a time of 39:39.55.
In prelim events, freshman Caroline Boss (Charlevoix/Charlevoix) had the top time in the 800 meters (2:19.02) while freshman Jenna Dyksen (Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne HS) had the top time in the 100 hurdles (15.18) and senior Kelley Tuinenga (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS) the top time in the 400 meter hurdles (1:04.89). Tuinenga's time was a career-best performance.
"We had a very strong day," said Calvin head track and field coach Bret Otte. "We had some outstanding performances in the field events but I was also very pleased with how we ran on the track as well. We are looking forward to competing again tomorrow."
Action continues tomorrow with field events beginning at 10 a.m. and running event finals set to begin at 1:30 p.m.
DAY ONE TEAM SCORES
Calvin 91.5
Hope 55.83
Trine 35
Albion 27
Olivet 14.66
Adrian 6
Alma 4
MEN'S TENNIS
Adrian 5, Calvin 2
by John Leerar
The Calvin men's tennis team was looking to do to Adrian on Thursday exactly what they had done during the regular season: win. Calvin defeated Adrian 5-4 in the second match of the MIAA season earlier this year and were looking to replicate their success.
Unfortunately, the Knights were unable to pull off another win against the Bulldogs, losing the match 5-2.
The match did not get off to a good start for the Knights in doubles. After taking two of the three matches during the regular season, Calvin only won one of the matches, an 8-4 decision in two doubles for junior Matt Buesing and senior Tom Griffin.
Down 2-1 heading into singles, the Knights needed to win 4 of the 6 matches to win. The singles started out with back-to-back losses for Calvin at two and three singles.
Sophomore Gene Hill took six singles, winning that matchup 6-1, 6-0. Buesing was also winning his one singles flight, but a loss in four singles sealed the win for Adrian and the loss for the Knights.
After the match, head coach John Ross reflected on the season the Knights had as a whole. "I thought we showed a lot of improvement as a team this year. After going 0-6 in the league a year ago, finishing with a 4-2 record in the MIAA and getting a second seed in the tournament is something to be proud of. We have a lot of young talent on the roster so I think we can improve even more next year."
After the loss, the Knights finish with a 9-9 record on the year.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Kalamazoo 5, Calvin 0
KALAMAZOO - The Calvin women's tennis team close out its season with a 5-0 loss to Kalamazoo in the MIAA Tournament semifinals at Stowe Stadium. The match by played to decision, ending with four singles flights still on the court.
Kalamazoo (14-6) took all three doubles flights. The Hornets won 8-3 at No. 1 doubles, 8-1 at No. 2 doubles and then edged Calvin's No. 3 doubles tandem of Liz Turner and Courtney Selvius 9-8, winning 7-4 in the tiebreaker.
Kalamazoo then clinched the win with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles and a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles.
Calvin closes out its season with an overall record of 12-8, a six-win improvement on its 2013-14 season record.
"Give credit to Kalamazoo," said Calvin women's tennis coach Kevin VanHaitsma. "Kalamazoo is a very talented team and they are very difficult to play on their home court. They played well today and deserve credit for the victory."
The loss also ends the careers of Calvin seniors Megan Visser, Ali Roode and Courtney Selvius. "We will really miss our seniors," said VanHaitsma. "They are wonderful young women who have given so much to this program. They have will be wonderful ambassadors for our program and Calvin College in the future."
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin College senior Jordan Brink has been named to the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) Academic All-State team.
Each BCAM Honor Team pays tribute to five outstanding scholar-athletes from Michigan colleges and universities at the NCAA I, NCAA II, NCAA III, and NAIA levels.
To be eligible, players have to be either a starter or an important reserve, must have reached sophomore standing, have articipated in at least 50% of the team's games, and have at least a 3.0 grade point average. The BCAM teams are selected on the basis of academic achievement, athletic accomplishments, grade point average and their coach's BCAM membership.
A native of Dyer, Indiana, Brink (Illiana Christian HS) received Division III All-America honors this March from D3hoops.com (1st team). the NABC (2nd team) and DIII News (3rd team), He was also both the D3hoops.com Great Lakes Region and MIAA Player of the Year. This past year he was a three-time MIAA Player of the Week. He averaged 18.3 PPG while leading Calvin College to a 22-7 record while also capturing MIAA regular season and MIAA Tournament titles.
A graduate of Illiana Christian High School, Brink is set to graduate next month with a double major of business marketing and sports management. A Dean's List student at Calvin, Brink was named a Capital One Academic All-American (2nd team) this winter. He served as a student intern with the NBA D-League's Grand Rapids DRIVE basketball team this past academic year and will serve an internship with the Detroit Pistons after graduating from Calvin in May.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
For the second straight year, Calvin College senior Breanna Verkaik has been named to the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) Academic All-State team.
To be eligible, players have to be either a starter or an important reserve, must have reached sophomore standing, have articipated in at least 50% of the team's games, and have at least a 3.0 grade point average. The BCAM teams are selected on the basis of academic achievement, athletic accomplishments, grade point average and their coach's BCAM membership.
A native of Holland and a graduate of Holland Christian High School, Verkaik was named the 2015 MIAA Most Valuable Player. She averaged 13.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG and dished out 3.2 APG this season for the Knights.
Her efforts landed her on the DIII News All-American 2nd Team, D3 Hoops All-American 4th Team and the D3 Hoops Great Lakes All- Region 1st Team as well as a WBCA All-American Honorable Mention.
Academically, Breanna has been on the MIAA Honor Roll for the past three years. She is a Nursing major with a 3.55 GPA. She has also found time to run on Calvin women's track and field team the last four years.
Received on Thu Apr 30 23:53:31 2015
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