CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 26, 2018
Calvin Track and Field Athletes Enjoy All-America Saturday at NCAA III Championships
MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
LA CROSSE, Wisc. - Calvin sophomore Caleb Ferguson used a furious finish to earn All-American honors in the 3,000 meter steeplechase Saturday at the NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Ferguson passed four runners in the final 150 meters to finish seventh in a time of 9:15.88. In earning a top-eight individual finish, Ferguson became the 10th individual in Calvin men's track and field history to claim All-America honors in the steeplechase including the first since 2012.
Ferguson advanced to Saturday's championship final by gaining the 14th and final qualifying berth in Thursday's prelims. He moved up seven spots in Saturday's final with a strategic race. Ferguson ran in 11th place for the majority of the race while staying out congestion over the water pit and barriers. With 150 meters left, Ferguson put on a finishing kick to pass four runners and move into All-America position. Ferguson finished just two-tenths of a second out of sixth place.
"Caleb ran an outstanding race," said Calvin head track and field coach Bret Otte. "He ran consistent splits, gave himself enough space to hurdle the barriers cleanly and then came through with an incredible final kick. We are extremely proud of his effort. To achieve All-America honors as a sophomore is a tremendous accomplishment."
Ferguson is now one of 10 individuals in Calvin men's track and field history to earn NCAA III All-America honors in the steeplechase. Calvin distance coach Brian Diemer has guided all 10 of those runners. "Caleb ran an outstanding race," said Diemer. "He took some valuable lessons from his prelim race on Thursday and used those to his advantage today. He stayed out of trouble and left enough in the tank to make a strong move at the finish. He showed great determination and heart in his final lap and is very worthy to be named an All-American."
Ferguson's All-America finish allowed the Calvin men's track and field team to finish in 69th place with two points.
CALVIN MEN'S 3,000 METER STEEPLECHASE ALL-AMERICANS
1987 - Pat McNamara - 7th place
1988 - Pat McNamara - 8th place
1989 - Pat McNamara - 1st place
1990 - John Lumkes - 1st place
1993 - Matt Schellenberg - 3rd place
1995 - Jason Washler - 7th place
1998 - Geoff Van Dragt - 3rd place
2002 - Justin Pfruender - 3rd place
2003 - Andy Yazzie - 7th place
2009 - Nate DeHaan - 6th place
2010 - Nick Kramer - 4th place
2011 - Nick Kramer - 3rd place
2012 - Nick Kramer - 1st place
2018 - Caleb Ferguson - 7th place
WOMEN'S TRACK AND Field
LA CROSSE, Wisc. - Katie Diekema and Jenna Dyksen claimed All-America honors Saturday at the NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Diekema (Kenmore, Wash./Ingelmoor HS) finished fourth in the 1500 meter run with a career-best time of 4:29.60. Dyksen (Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne HS) placed seventh in the 100 meter hurdles with a career-best time of 14.37.
Diekema started out the All-America afternoon with her race in the 1500 meters. She broke free of the trail pack after one lap and remained on the trail of leader Emily Richards of Ohio Northern and Gabrielle Stravac of Emory. Diekema remained in third place until the final 25 meters when Kaelia Neal of Linfield edged by her to finish five-tenths of a second in front for third.
Diekema became the third individual in Calvin women's track and field history to claim All-America honors in the 1500 meter run, joining Sarah Gritter (1999) and Lauren Bergstrom (2008). She also joined her father Doug Diekema and aunt Melissa (Dykstra) Diekema as Calvin All-Americans with her father Doug claiming All-America accolades in cross country in 1978 and 1979 while her aunt Melissa was an outdoor track and field All-American in 1992 and 1994.
Katie Diekema entered the NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championships seeded fifth in the 1500 meters but rose to the occasion when called upon said Calvin distance coach Brian Diemer. "Katie ran with aggressive mindset all weekend but she also ran smartly," said Diemer. "Her tactics today were brilliant. She gave it everything she had and that's all you can ask for as a coach. I am thrilled to see her reach this goal."
Calvin head track and field coach Bret Otte was also thrilled with Diekema's performance. "Katie ran with a lot of courage today," said Otte. "She did not sit back but went for it early in the race. She realizes that she does not have the finishing kick of some of her competitors so she stretched the distance between them right away. That took courage but she was up to the challenge. I am extremely proud of her."
Diekema's All-America run culminated a series of steps as she placed 15th in the 1500 meters at the national meet in 2017 and then finished 11th in the mile run at the 2018 NCAA III Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Dyksen also completed a steady climb to the All-America stand on Saturday. She competed in the 100 meter hurdles at the 2017 NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, finishing 12th.
She entered the 2018 NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championships seeded 15th but surprised the field in the Friday prelims with a sixth place finish to advance to Saturday's championship final.
In Saturday's race, Dyksen exploded out of the blocks, clipped a pair of hurdles early in the race but then pushed hard over the final 25 meters to outlean two competitors for seventh place.
Dyksen finished two-tenths of a second ahead of Darielle Cross of Rowan (8th place) and Raevyn Fontaine of Wheaton (9th place). She also finished just three-hundreths of a second behind Gabrielle Brown of Hamline who placed sixth.
"Jenna was very positive all week," said Otte. "She had an excellent start out of the blocks, then hit a few hurdles and finished strong. I am extremely pleased to see her conclude her career as an All-American."
Dyksen was not sure at first that she had grabbed one of the top eight spots upon completing her race. "I wasn't sure if I had finished in the top eight at first," said Dyksen. "I knew it was close and I just leaned as much as I could at the finish line. I had to wait to see what the times were on the board and when I saw I was seventh it was pretty amazing. I want to thank Coach (Bret) Otte for helping me get to this point. He has been a great coach and has been a big parrt of helping me reach this (All-America) goal. When I came to Calvin, one of my goals was to be an All-American. It feels great to finish my track and field career reaching that goal."
The All-America finishes by Dyksen and Diekema helped the Calvin women's track and field team finish 41st in the final team standings with seven points. George Fox and UMass-Boston shared the national team title with 44 points apiece.
CALVIN COLLEGE 1500 METER ALL-AMERICANS
1999 - Sarah Gritter - 3rd place
2008 - Lauren Bergstrom - 7th place
2018 - Katie Diekema - 4th place
CALVIN COLLEGE 100 METER HURDLE ALL-AMERICANS
2003 - Annie VanderLaan - 6th place
2007 - Sarah Wittingen - 6th place
2008 - Sarah Wittingen - 7th place
2018 - Jenna Dyksen - 7th place
Received on Sat May 26 22:50:25 2018
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