Calvin Men's Cross Country 2nd at NCAA III Championships; Women 6th

November 17, 2001

ROCK ISLAND, IL * An up-and-down year ended on a high note for the Calvin men's cross country team as the sixth-ranked Knights earned national runner-up honors at the NCAA III Championships Saturday afternoon with a second place score of 141 points. The second place finish marked the fourth consecutive top-four national finish for the Knights who took second at the 1998 NCAA III Championships; 4th in 1999 and claimed the national title last year in Spokane, Washington.

Top-ranked Wisconsin-LaCrosse held true to form as the Eagles placed five runners in the top-45 to win the national title with a score of 81 points. Beset by injuries and other setbacks throughout the year, the Calvin men came up with four (top-35) All-American performances Saturday led by senior Justin Pfruender of Midland who was sixth individually with a time of 24:25, allowing him to earn All-America accolades for the third straight year. Calvin freshman Brian Maat of Holland Christian High School was the second finisher for the Knights, placing 12th individually with a time of 24:35. Maat was the top freshman finisher in the men's competition Saturday. He also became the first freshman in Calvin men's cross country history to receive All-America honors. Senior Dan Hoekstra of Kalamazoo Christian High School also picked up All-America honors for the second straight year for Calvin with a 21st place time of 24:44 while senior Joel Klooster of Chatham, Ontario accompli! shed the same feat, finishing 24th with a time of 24:48. Rounding out Calvin's finishers were senior David Ritsema (Denver, CO) in 121st (26:01); sophomore Tim Avery (Rochester, NY) in 143rd (26:15) and sophomore Joel Reasoner (Cambridge, MN) in 181st (26:46).

"I am so proud of this team," said Calvin men's cross country coach Brian Diemer. "A couple of months ago we really doubted if we could even get back to this point and people were really doubting themselves. To finish as a national runner-up is a tremendous accomplishment for this team."

LaCrosse was led by senior Tyler Foos who placed third individually with a time of 24:22. The finish by Foos was notable as the senior lost his shoe in the opening half-mile of the race and fell to dead last individually. Running with just a sock on one foot, Foos fought his way back among the leaders, passing 15 runners in the final 400 meters.

"Wisconsin-LaCrosse has an outstanding team and I congratulate them on their performance today," said Diemer. "We feel no disappointment whatsoever in finishing second to them."

Diemer also had words of praise for Pfruender, Hoekstra, Klooster and Ritsema. "Those four seniors have been such a big part of our program over the last four years," he said. "They are a big reason why we were able to bring home four top-four national trophies in a row. They helped bring our program to a higher level and they will be difficult to replace."

Diemer also pointed to Maat's All-America finish as a good sign for the future. "Brian is a very talented individual but the wonderful thing about him is that he sets no limits for himself," said Diemer. "Because of that, the sky is the limit for him because he believes that he can run with the top runners in the country."

In the women's race, second-ranked Calvin slipped a few notches as the Knights took sixth place with a team score of 223 points. Middlebury of Vermont repeated as national champion with a team score of 98 points. The Calvin women earned one All-America certificate on Saturday as junior Rachel Baber of Brandon, Wisconsin was 29th with a time of 17:50. Other finishers for Calvin included sophomore Jessie Lair of West Bloomfield in 57th place (18:16); senior Erinn Boot (Kalamazoo Christian High School) in 64th place (18:18); sophomore Sarah Hastings (Traverse City) in 72nd place (18:22); senior Lindsay Carrier (Wyoming Tri-unity Christian High School) in 84th place (18:27); freshman Ashley Berner (Littleton, CO) in 134th place (18:53) and senior Laura Medema (Grand Rapids Christian) in 147th place (18:59).

With a half-mile to go in Saturday's race, Calvin was in position for a second place team finish but fell off the pace in the final 800 meters. According to head coach Nancy Meyer, an overaggressive start may have caused the Knights to fade a bit in the homestretch with temperatures hovering above 70 degrees. "We went out really hard and I think that may have cost us a bit," said Meyer. "Everyone had to deal with the heat today but I think it affected us a little more. We were hoping for a top-four team finish but at the same time, we can't feel too bad about finishing sixth in the country. This team has had a wonderful year and will have many positives to build on for next season."

In the men's competition, Haverford senior J.B. Haglund captured the individual national title with a time of 24:16. Dana Boyle of the University of Puget Sound was the individual champion in the women's race as she clocked in with a first place time of 16:46.

A pair of MIAA runners also competed in the men's race individually as Albion sophomore Nick Mockeridge took 74th with a time of 25:33 while Hope senior Dylan Wade was 91st in 25:43.

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