CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 2, 2015
Track and Field Teams Claim MIAA Titles;
Baseball Drops Pair of Games at Adrian
MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
ALBION - Faced with a formidable challenge, the Calvin men's track and field team stepped up and delivered in claiming its 27th MIAA title in the last 29 years on Friday at the MIAA Championships at Albion College. Calvin finished with a first place total of 224 points, outdistancing hard-charging Trine which placed second with 182.5 points.
The MIAA title is the fourth in five years on the men's side for Calvin head track and field coach Bret Otte.
"We were pushed by a very strong Trine team," said Otte. "We knew that would be the case heading into the outdoor season and our guys knew that everyone had to step up to meet that challenge and they did just that here at this meet. I couldn't be more proud than I am of my guys right now."
Calvin used strong point production in the field events, distance events and hurdles to outdistance the rest of the conference on Friday.
The Knights claimed five individuals titles on Friday with senior Steven Haagsma (Grandville/Calvin Christian HS) claiming the first win of the day for the Maroon and Gold as he churned his way to a season-best time of 9:13.88 to win the men's steeplechase. Haagsma's time should place him inside the top eight and perhaps inside the top six on the NCAA III performance list at the end of the week.
Haagsma was part of a 1-5 Calvin finish in the race as senior Bret Habura (Campbell Hall, NY/Washingtonville HS) was fifth (9:46.41).
In the 110 high hurdles, senior Erik Holstege (Keswick, VA/Monticello HS) led a 1-5-6-8 Calvin finish as Holstege claimed the title in the event for the third consecutive year, doing so with a time of 14.74. Freshman Chase Rohrer (Ludington/Ludington HS) was fifth (15.84), freshman Jeremiah Stout (Escondido, CA/Escondido Calvin Christian HS) sixth (16.17) and junior Joel Ooms (Demotte, IN/Illiana Christian HS) eighth (16.32).
Ooms then turned around and won the 400 meter hurdles in a season-best time of 56.54. Rohrer was third in 57.48 while Stout was eighth (1:01.50).
Calvin's performance in the 400 meter hurdles gave the Knights enough points to clinch the win with three events still left on the track.
In the discus, senior Ben de Waal Malefyt (Midland Park, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) defended his title, winning with a throw of 155-5. Freshman Remington Rohrer (Ludington/Ludington HS) also scored, placing seventh with a throw of 127-1.
Calvin also scored in the hammer throw as junior David Dadzie (Accra, Ghana/Ghana International School) stepped up with a season-best throw of 150-7 that was good for fifth place.
Calvin's 5,000 meter crew featured a 1-2-6-7 finish with sophomore Zac Nowicki (Comstock Park/Calvin Christian HS) winning in a time of 15:07.63 while freshman Andrew Phillipose (Mount Prospect, IL/John Hersey HS) was second (15:13.43), junior Ethan Anderson (Stillwater, MN/Stillwater Area HS) sixth (15:42.98) and senior Josh Ferguson (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley HS) seventh (15:45.32).
Calvin also put together a strong set of performances in the high jump and triple jump events Friday morning.
In the high jump, sophomore Jon Cok (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) was second with a season-best mark of 6-6 ¼ while sophomore Jeiel Burrell (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) was fourth (6-2 ¾).
In the triple jump, Calvin went 2-3-4 with Cok taking second (43-10 ¾), Holstege taking third (43-7 ¾) and Burrell placing fourth (43-5).
Another highlight came from freshman Ethan Valentine (Mason, OH/William Mason HS) who put in a serious bid to win against defending champion Tyler Bourdo in the 400 meters before finishing second with a career-best time of 48.41 with Bourdo winning in 48.25. Valentine was part of a 1-7-8 Calvin finish as freshman Noah Buteyn (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) was seventh (52.04) and freshman Marcus James (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) eighth (52.47).
In the 4x400 meter relay, Valentine put on another show as he lifted Calvin from fifth to second with a final leg split of 47.54 that allowed the Knights to finish with a season-best time of 3:21.23.
Calvin also scored points in the middle-distance events. In the 1,500 meters, senior Stephen Tubergen (Mount Prospect, IL/John Hersey HS) was fourth (3:58.79), junior Matt Oram (Toledo, OH/Toledo Christian HS) fifth (4:02.30), sophomore Nathan VanHaitsma (Olympia, WA/Olympia HS) sixth (4:02.53) and junior Jeff Meitler (Berlin, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran HS) seventh (4:02.93). Meitler then snagged an eighth place finish in the 800 meters.
"It was just a total team performance," said Otte. "I can't say enough about these guys with the way they pulled together. This is a championship that I will remember for a long time."
WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
ALBION - The Calvin women's track and field team extended the longest winning streak in MIAA women's athletics history on Friday, winning its 26th consecutive MIAA title. The Knights took first place at the two-day MIAA Championships at Albion College with a commanding first place total of 286.5 points, finishing well ahead of second place Hope which tallied 194.83 points.
Calvin's championship streak in the second-longest in MIAA athletics history, surpassed only by the 77 consecutive MIAA titles won by the Kalamazoo College men's tennis team.
Calvin claimed five individual MIAA titles on Friday but depth was the real story for the Knights as they used strength in numbers to overwhelm the rest of the league.
Junior McKenzie Diemer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) was part of many highlights on Friday, claiming a win in the 1,500 meters with an MIAA record time of 4:35.48, breaking the previous record of 4:36.02 set by Calvin's Sarah Gritter in 1999. Diemer led a 1-2 Calvin finish in the event as senior Kate Ardinger (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS) was right behind in a time of 4:37.99.
Freshman Jenna Dyksen (Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne HS) was a double-winner for Calvin on Friday, winning the 100 meter hurdles (15.23) and triple jump (36-4). Dyksen was part of a 1-2-3 Calvin sweep in the triple jump as sophomore Carissa Weis (Mount Prospect IL/Mount Prospect) was second 36-3 ½ and junior Ayooluwa Ayoola (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) was third (36-2 ¾). Dyksen also led a 1-5 finish in the 100 meter hurdles as junior Kally Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) was fifth (15.99).
In the 5,000 meters, Calvin took the top two spots with senior Sarah Danner (Watkins Glen, NJ/Charles Dickerson HS) winning in a time of 17:50.45 while sophomore Lauren Strohbehn (Stillwater, MN/St. Croix Prep) was second (17:50.74).
In the 800 meters, Calvin went 1-2-4-6 with senior Mia Rienstra (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) edging freshman teammate Caroline Boss (Charlevoix/Charlevoix HS) for the win with Rienstra recording a career-best time of 2:16.40 while Boss also had a collegiate career-best time of 2:16.47. McKenzie Diemer was also fourth (2:18.28) while Kate Ardinger was sixth (2:23.74).
From there, Calvin rolled up depth across the board. In the 400 meter hurdles, Calvin went 2-3-4-5 with senior Breanna Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) taking second (1:04.96), senior Kelley Tuinenga (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS) taking third (1:05.46), freshman Marissa McGahan (Brighton/Brighton HS) taking fourth (1:06.30) and Kally Verkaik taking fifth (1:06.95).
In the steeplechase, Calvin went 2-4 with senior Kimby Penning (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) taking second (11:20.81) and senior Paige McGahan (Brighton/Brighton HS) placing fourth (11:35.46).
In the javelin throw, Calvin went 2-4-7 with senior Jordyn Platt (Wood Dale, IL/Timothy Christian HS) taking second (116-2), senior Haley Stadnikia (Jackson/Jackson Northwest HS) placing fourth (107-10) and junior Maria Steblay (Eden Prairie, MN/Eden Prairie HS) taking seventh (100-7).
Calvin also went 2-4-7 in the shot put with freshman Bethany Love (Kentwood/East Kentwood HS) taking second with a throw of 38-11 ½, missing the victory by less than one inch. Junior Stacie Mead (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Northern HS) was fourth (36-11) and sophomore Michaela Meckes (Bay City/Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS) seventh (35-3 ¾).
Calvin also picked up points in the sprints as freshman Anita VanderMeulen (Ann Arbor/Ann Arbor Skyline HS) was third in the 100 meter dash (13.08) and seventh in the 200 meter dash (26.95) while freshman Tiffany Applewhite (Kentwood/East Kentwood HS) was fourth in the 4x400 meter dash (1:00.51) and senior Amy Sybesma (Cerritos, CA/Valley Christian HS) eighth (1:04.23).
In addition, Calvin's 4x100 meter relay team took third (49.84) while its 4x400 meter relay team took second (4:03.72).
"This team has really molded well together," said Calvin head track and field coach Bret Otte on Friday. "We have a great group of senior leaders but also some freshmen and sophomores who have added to the mix and provided some serious punch to our lineup. We have a good team this year and this squad fought hard through every event this week and came up with another championship. My hat is off to my women's team. They deserve this title."
Calvin Drops Two to Adrian
By John Leerar
The Calvin Knights Baseball team traveled to the east side of the state on Friday to take on the league-leading Bulldogs of Adrian College in a twinbill. Calvin, being four games behind the Bulldogs in the MIAA standings, was looking to take two and move into a position to win a share of the regular season title on Saturday.
However, this was not to be as Adrian won both ends of the twinbill by scores of 9-0 and 3-2.
In the first game, it was all Bulldogs. The Knights managed just three hits, all singles, against a dominant performance by Adrian pitcher Eric Schmidt.
Hitting base knocks in the game for the Knights were senior Grant Van Putten (Holland/Holland Christian HS), freshman Nate DeZwaan (Holland/Holland Christian HS), and senior Ben Wohl (Canton/Plymouth HS)
Senior Ben Guilfoyle (Romeoville, IL/Plainfield East HS) took the loss on the hill, dropping to 5-4 on the year.
"I didn't think we played very well in game one," said head coach John Rypel. "We didn't support our pitcher well enough both with the bats and on the field."
In the second half of the doubleheader, the Knights jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second on an RBI groundout by senior Brian Exner (Niles/Brandywine HS).
Calvin then added an insurance run in the fifth with an RBI single by junior Jordan VanderWall (Wyoming/South Christian HS).
Adrian stormed back in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game up at two apiece, where the score would stay until won the game on a sac fly to right in the bottom of the ninth.
Junior Kyle Wasserberger (Spring Lake/Spring Lake HS) took the loss in relief for the Knights, dropping to 3-4 on the year.
Notable offensive performances for the Knights included sophomore Patrick Avila (Lakewood, CA/Valley Christian HS) going 2 for 4 and Grant Van Putten reaching base on all four at-bats on the day, including a double. Van Putten is now hitting a blistering .448 in conference play.
"We definitely had our chances in this game," said Rypel. "We had the lead going into the late innings and just couldn't hold on. We will have to be ready for them tomorrow."
With the losses, Calvin drops to 16-10 in the MIAA, one game ahead of Kalamazoo.
Due to tiebreaking rules, if Calvin and Kalamazoo tie to end the season, Calvin would end up with the third seed in the conference tournament and Kalamazoo would take the second seed and hosting duties for the first round.
The Knights will be back in action on Saturday at home against the Bulldogs with the doubleheader slated to start at 1 p.m.
Received on Sat, 2 May 2015 05:32:49 +0000
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