CKSR (Track and Field Teams Wrap up MIAA Outdoor Titles)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 5, 2017

Track and Field Teams Wrap up MIAA Outdoor Titles

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin men's track and field team claimed its 23rd MIAA title in the last 24 years in dominating fashion on Friday at the MIAA Track and Field Championships at Calvin's Zuidema Field.
Calvin posted a first place score of 266 points, finishing 105 points ahead of second place Hope.
The MIAA title is Calvin's 29th in the last 31 years including its league-leading 42nd overall. The Knights have won the last five MIAA titles outright.
Sophomore Brendan Van Houten (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) put together a historic two days of competition at the MIAA Championships. After winning the shot put Thursday evening, he proceeded to win the discus and hammer throw on Friday, tossing the discus 141-4 and the hammer 172-6. Van Houten is just the second individual in MIAA track and field history to win all three events at the conference finals and the first since Joseph Maddock of Albion achieved the feat in 1902.

"What is so impressive about Brendan's achievement is how long the two days are as a thrower," said Calvin head track and field coach Bret Otte. "He started the trek early yesterday afternoon and was back at it again early this morning and then again this afternoon. We did not expect him to win all three events but he's a special kind of kid. He's a quiet individual but he is a very competitive person."

Van Houten's 30 points were part of a banner meet for Calvin in the throwing events. Van Houten led a 1-6-8 Calvin finish in the discus as freshman Jordan Jorritsma (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) took sixth (124-1) and senior Erick Holder (Marian, Ind./Eastbrook HS) eighth (118-4). On Thursday, Calvin went 1-3 in the shot put and 2-4 in the javelin.

Junior Ethan Valentine (Mason, Oh./William Mason HS) also had a big afternoon on Friday, winning the 400 meters with a season-best time of 47.46. His time currently ranks third on the NCAA III performance list. Valentine also placed fourth in the 200 meters (22.03) and ran the anchor leg on Calvin's first place 4x400 meter relay team that clocked in with a time of 3:20.11. He was joined on the relay by sophomore Luke Peterson (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS), sophomore James Jeninga (Brookfield, Wisc./Milwaukee Lutheran HS) and junior Noah Buteyn (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS).

Buteyn added a fourth place finish in the 400 meters (49.57) and an eighth place finish in the 200 meters (23.02).

Jeninga nearly pulled off an upset win in the 800 meters, taking second with a time of 1:54.60. Senior Jonathan Schaap (Mahomet, Il./Mahomet-Seymour HS) was fourth (1:56.55) and Peterson sixth (1:58.42).

Calvin had two freshmen win individual events on Friday as Caleb Ferguson (Naperville, Il./Neuqua Valley HS) won the 3,000 meter steeplechase (9:18.49) while Sam Veenstra (North Haledon, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) won the 400 meter hurdles (56.59). Ferguson's winning time currently places him 16th on the NCAA III performance list. He led a 1-2-3 Calvin finish in the steeplechase with senior Zac Nowicki (Comstock Park, Mich./Calvin Christian HS) second (9:18.71) and freshman Addison Smith (Seoul, South Korea/Seoul Foreign School) third (9:20.71). Veenstra led a 1-3-5 Calvin charge in the 400 hurdles as junior Chase Rohrer (Ludington, Mich./Ludington HS) was third (57.53) and sophomore Alex Williams (Mequon, Il./Homestead HS) fifth (59.27).

Rohrer placed fourth in the 110 high hurdles (15.51) with Williams seventh (15.92).

Calvin's 4x100 meter relay team of Rohrer, sophomore Lee Barents (Redlands, Ca./Arrowhead Christian HS), junior Jeremiah Stout (Escondido, Ca./Escondido Calvin Christian HS) and freshman Christopher Visser (Fremont, Mich./Western Michigan Christian HS) took fifth in 45.43.

Barents added a seventh place in the 100 meter dash (11.38). In the triple jump, Barents was third (43-5 3/4) while senior Jeiel Burrell (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) was eighth (41-7 3/4).

Freshman Nathan Van Wyhe (Frankfort, Il./Lincoln-Way East HS) was fifth in the high jump (6-1 1/2).

Calvin took four of the top five spots in the 1500 meters with junior Mark DeJong (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) taking second (3:57.76), senior Jordan Kramer (Pewaukee, Wisc./Lake Country Lutheran HS) taking third (3:58.62), freshman Tyler Johnson (Springfield, Il./Pleasant Plains HS) taking fourth (4:01.44) and senior Nathan Van Haitsma (Olympia, Wash./Olympia HS) placing fifth (4:01.50).

Calvin's final individual event champion was sophomore Jamison Koeman (Whitinsville, Mass./Whitinsville Christian HS) who won the 5,000 meter run with a time of 15:26.95. Johnson completed a difficult daily double, placing second in a time of 15:32.92.

"You never know what any year can bring but our men's team was very committed," said Otte. "Our seniors led extremely well as they have all year and that has helped spark some of our younger athletes to push forward. This has been a very enjoyable team to coach. It is very balanced with strong leadership."

"Anytime you can come up on top of the teams in this league it quite the accomplishment. There are some very impressive athletes in our league - particularly in the sprinting events.

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The longest women's championship streak in the MIAA continued on Friday, when the women's track & field team won the MIAA title for the 28th consecutive season. The Knights finished the two-day tournament with 215 points, 48.5 ahead of Hope in second place. Calvin won five events on Friday to finish the championships with seven victories. The Calvin men also claimed the MIAA title and Calvin finishes the year with a league-leading nine MIAA titles in the 2016-17 school year.
"Winning a title is never easy," said Calvin track & field coach Bret Otte. "A lot of things can happen and it worked out well for us this year. It was fun to compete at home; we had some good support from the community. Anytime you can keep your athletes in a normal routine it is an advantage. Throws were big for us, the field events worked well for us. We had some step up in hurdles and in the sprints for us."
The Knights started the day with a first-place finish in the triple jump. Junior Jenna Dyksen (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) recorded a leap of 11.01 meters to win the event for the third-straight year. Sophomore Madison Orth (Soldotna, Alaska/Cook Inlet Academy) was in fourth place at 10.69 meters and sophomore Erin Van Lenten (Hawthorne, N.J./Eastern Christian) recorded a sixth-place finish at 10.34 meters.
In the shot put, Calvin had two of the top-three finishers. Junior Bethany Love (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Kentwood) was in second place at 13.17 meters and senior Michaela Meckes (Bay City, Mich./Saginaw Valley Lutheran) was in third place at 12.40 meters. Freshman Abi Ediger (Hudsonville, Mich./Hamilton) scored two points for Calvin in seventh place at 10.75 meters.
The second Calvin victory of the day came at the javelin throw. Freshman Allison Rozell (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern) won with a throw of 28.60 meters. Freshman Annika Staal (Woodinville, Wash./Bellevue Christian) finished in fourth place at 30.96 meters.
The Maroon and Gold had two point scorers in the pole vault on Friday. Sophomore Annalane Miller (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) finished in fourth place at 3.15 meters and junior Kayla Van Lenten (Hawthorne, N.J./Eastern Christian) tallied a sixth place finish at 3.00 meters.
Three runners scored for Calvin in the steeplechase. The fastest Knights was junior Marissa McGahan (Brighton, Mich./Brighton) in third place at 11:37.61. Right behind McGahan was senior Autumn Vonk (Zeeland, Mich./Zeeland West) in fourth place at 11:40.20. Sophomore Breanna Kooiman (Tinley Park, Ill./Chicago Christian) clocked in a seventh-place time of 11:53.26.
Calvin finished in fifth place in the 4x100-meter relay. The team of freshman Jackie Amissah-Nunoo (Accra, Ghana/Akosombo International School), junior Margaret LaLonde (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven), sophomore Alyssa Wolters (Vincennes, Ind./South Knox) and Kayla Van Lenten finished at 51.36.
The Knights had three of the top-five times in the 1500-meter run. Sophomore Katherine Diekema (Kenmore, Wash./Inglemoor) crossed the finish line in second place at 4:44.08. Freshman Sarah Bell (Lynden, Wash./Lynden Christian) was in third place at 4:49.67. Freshman Johanna Admiraal (Cincinnati, Ohio/Towson) picked up four points for Calvin in fifth place.
Jenna Dyksen recorded her second victory of the day in the 100-meter hurdles. Dyksen crossed the finish line with a winning time of 14.78. Dyksen has won the event two of the last three years. Junior Bethany Van Eck (Clifton, N.J./Eastern Christian) finished in sixth place at 15.87 and Erin Van Lenten was in eighth at 16.30.
Junior Anita VanderMeulen (Ann Arbor, Mich./Skyline) placed third for Calvin in the 400-meter dash at 59.43. She also took sixth in the 200-meter dash at 26.79.
Jackie Amissah-Nunoo clocked in at 13.00 in the 100-meter dash in eighth place.
Katherine Diekema recorded a third-place finish in the 800-meter run on Friday at 2:19.89. Sarah Ball was in seventh place at 2:25.06.
Jenna Dyksen continued her dominance on Friday in the 400-meter hurdles. Dyksen's third victory was with a time of 1:04.14. Dyksen has won the event the last two years. Alyssa Wolters finished in eighth place at 1:34.39.
"It was a remarkable performance by Jenna," said Otte. "I like her attitude, she is a gamer and try to do whatever she can for her team. She is one of many remarkable athletes on this team."
The final victory of the day for Calvin came in the 5000-meter run. Senior Lauren Strohbehn (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Preparatory) won the event for the third-straight year with a time of 18:00.42. Johanna Admiraal was clocked in at 18:34.02 in fifth place.
Calvin finished the day in fifth place in the 4x400-meter relay. The team of Jenna Dyksen, freshman Margret VanWylen (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian), sophomore Selvi Bunce (Savage, Minn./Burnsville) and Anita VanderMeulen finished at 4:14.17.
On Thursday, Michaela Meckes won the discus title for the third-straight year and Bethany Van Eck claimed the high jump title.
Received on Sat May 6 00:35:53 2017