CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 21, 2015
NCAA III OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY ONE REPORT
MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
by John Leerar
CANTON, NY-Senior Ben de Waal Malefyt (Haledon, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) came into the NCAA Division III National Track and Field meet seeded just 14th in the discus.
His career best mark had been a distance of 166 feet and 8 inches, good enough to get him into the national meet but not enough to secure an All-American spot.
However, on his third throw of the afternoon-and possibly the last throw of his career-de Waal Malefyt heaved the disc 174 feet and 4 inches, shattering his personal best by almost 8 feet. This distance carried him all the way through the discus finals and he ended up with a sixth-place All-American finish.
"I came into that circle thinking that it might be the last throw of my career," said de Waal Malefyt. "I just wanted to put everything I could into it and not have my last throw be a bad one. The feeling of being an All-American really hasn't hit me yet. If you would've told me that I would throw 53 meters a couple weeks ago at the conference meet I would've told you that you were crazy. But throwing coach Katie Dean and head coach Bret Otte tweaked some things with me and it obviously worked out."
Katie Dean had nothing but praise for Big Ben. "I saw today that Ben was able to take a risk. About two weeks ago we decided to change some things around and he absolutely bought into it and it paid off today. I was very excited when he hit that big throw. Ben's been through a lot the past couple weeks. A few weeks ago he was hitting a plateau so we took apart his throw and pieced it back together again, and I think that made a big difference."
de Waal Malefyt is the first Calvin All-American in the discus since Nate Meckes in 2005.
Later in the day, Calvin senior Steven Haagsma (Wyoming/Calvin Christian HS) competed in the prelims of the men's steeplechase. Haagsma came in as the 10th seed with a time of 9:08.43. He failed to qualify for finals however, taking 19th place in the preliminaries in 9:38.43.
"When you get to the national meet, there is no room for error," said Diemer. "There's nothing forgiving about it. For the first three laps, Haagsma was able to coast along and was never more than eight meters away from the lead. His one mistake was not making a move soon enough to keep up with the leaders. He's still had a fabulous career and it was very good to see Calvin represented in the steeplechase again."
Junior Ethan Anderson (Stillwater, MN/Stillwater Area HS) competed in the men's 10,000 meter run. Anderson came into the event seeded 15th after a personal best qualifying time of 30:37.88. He was not able to improve on this time though, and finished 18th at the national meet with a time of 32:22.13.
Ethan was able to keep up with the pack for the first half of the race, but soon fell behind. He was unable to make up the distance in the closing parts of the race.
"I'm incredibly proud to say that Ethan was at nationals," said Calvin assistant coach Brian Diemer.
"That's a huge accomplishment in and of itself. He got valuable experience competing at the highest level with the big boys and he definitely needed that. I would've loved to see him somewhere in the top 12 or so, but the reality was that he needed to gain experience and he did just that. He also showed his teammates what can be done with hard work and determination."
CALVIN MEN'S DISCUS ALL-AMERICANS
1998 - Steve Michmerhuizen - 8th place
1999 - Steve Michmerhuizen - 5th place
2003 - Nate Meckes - 6th place
2004 - Justin Grasmeyer - 7th place
2005 - Nate Meckes - 2nd place
2015 - Ben de Waal Malefyt - 6th place
WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
By John Leerar
CANTON, NY-senior distance runner Sarah Danner (Watkins Glen, NY/Charles Dickerson HS) was determined to avenge her 2014 finish in the 10,000 meter run.
In that event last year, Danner finished 19th-still an accomplishment to make it to nationals but not what she wanted in that race.
On Thursday, Danner achieved her goal, finishing in 8th and earning the final All-American spot in her event.
Danner stayed consistent throughout the race, never going ahead of 5th but also never falling behind 8th. She came into the race seeded 9th with a time of 35:53.44 but overachieved her seeding, finishing in 36:20.54.
"I was just trying to keep myself in a good position in the pack," said Danner. "I just was trying to keep my footing for most of it."
"It's definitely been my goal all year to be an All-American. It's absolutely a dream come true, and especially with my whole family here to see me."
Calvin distance coach Brian Diemer showed a lot of praise for Danner. "Sarah showed a lot of poise, courage, and determination today. The runners in this event were incredibly bunched up and she was running in lane two for most of the way. She was able to fight off her challenges and made a crucial move on the outside to get past the bubble of middle-of-the-road runners. Without that move, she would not be an All-American. For the last mile, she was only about 40 yards away from her trailer, which turned her coaches into nervous wrecks. I am incredibly glad it worked out for her though."
This is the third straight year that Calvin has had an All-American in the women's 10,000 meter run.
Earlier in the evening, junior McKenzie Diemer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) competed in the women's steeplechase. She qualified as the 5th seed for the national meet with a time of 10:36.75.
However, the day was not hers, as she finished 22nd in the prelims with a time of 11:51.16.
McKenzie, who has been battling a foot injury for the past two weeks, stayed with the pack for the first two laps or so. Eventually, however, the injury caught up with her.
"I was incredibly nervous going into this race," said Calvin distance coach and McKenzie's father Brian Diemer. "Two weeks ago, McKenzie injured her foot on the steeplechase barrier stanchion and she was unable to run on it until this past Monday. Even then, she was limited to just a mile a day. It's obviously a huge accomplishment to make it to nationals and you want to be able to compete at a high level here. The first two laps were pretty good, but the strain caused by running and leaping over barriers with one good foot caught up to her. I am still incredibly proud of her for finishing the race and it provides valuable experience for future races."
In addition, Calvin senior Kate Ardinger (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS) competed Thursday in the prelims of the 1500 meter run.
Ardinger came into the event seeded 15th with a season-best time of 4:32.57. She was hoping to secure a top-four spot in her preliminary heat and qualify for the final race on Saturday.
Unfortunately, Ardinger finished fifth in her heat and fifteenth overall in the prelims and failed to qualify for the finals. Although her fifth-place finish was good enough for a first wild-card position, the speed of the following heat pushed her out of the finals. Her time was 4:37.87.
"Kate ran a great race and put herself in great position to qualify for the finals," said Calvin assistant coach Brian Diemer. "It's unfortunate that her heat was so slow. Her forte' is running a fast race, and I think that the slow pace of her heat hurt her. She had to stay back with the pack, and that's really unfortunate. We are all very proud of her accomplishments this year and for earning a trip to the national meet."
CALVIN WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD 10,000 METER ALL-AMERICANS
1993 - Renea Bluekamp - 3rd place
1994 - Renea Bluekamp - 2nd place
1994 - Amy Kuipers - 5th place
1995 - Renea Bluekamp - 4th place
1995 - Amy Kuipers - 8th place
1996 - Amy Kuipers - 6th place
1998 - Andrea Clark - 8th place
2007 - Christina Overbeck - 5th place
2009 - Jessica Koster - 5th place
2010 - Jessica Koster - 6th place
2013 - Nicole Michmerhuizen - 1st place
2014 - Nicole Michmerhuizen - 2nd place
2015 - Sarah Danner - 8th place
Received on Fri May 22 00:20:17 2015
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