Pair of Calvin men's cross country harriers
named to Verizon Academic All-District IV teams

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Jeff Febus - [email protected]

Grand Rapids, MI -- 
      
A trio of Calvin men's cross country harriers have received
Verizon Academic All-District IV honors in the fall/winter at-large college 
division.  Named to the Verizon Academic All-District IV first team from Calvin are
senior Paul Petersen and junior Joel Klooster.  As members of the first team, 
Petersen and Klooster both advance to the national ballot and are eligible for 
All-America honors.
 
The college division of the Verizon Academic All-America program includes NCAA II,
NCAA III and NAIA schools.  The Verizon Academic All-District and All-America teams 
are selected by the College Sports Information Director's Association of America 
(CoSIDA).  To be eligible for nomination, a player must be a starter or a key reserve 
with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.20.   The men's fall/winter division includes the 
sports of cross country, gymnastics, skiing, fencing, ice hockey, soccer, water polo, 
wrestling, rifle and swimming and diving.
 
A native of Crawforsdville, Indiana and a graduate of Southmont High School, Petersen 
is making his first appearance on the Verizon All-Academic District IV team.  
Petersen is a seven-time member of the Calvin Dean's List, a three-time member of the 
MIAA Academic Honor Roll and a two-time recipient of the College Cross Country 
Coaches All-Academic award.  Petersen is majoring in geology and carries a 3.82 grade 
point average.
 
This past fall, Petersen helped lead Calvin to its first-ever national title as he 
finished 22nd individually with a time of 25:31 to help the Knights post a 
first-place team score of 65 points.  Petersen's individual finish was an All-America 
performance as he was one of five Knights to earn All-America honors at the national 
meet November 18 in Spokane, Washington.  

Earlier in the year, Petersen earned first team All-MIAA honors for the third 
straight year as he finished fourth at the MIAA Championships with a time of 25:27 as 
the Knights captured their 14th straight league crown.  Petersen's fourth place 
performance was part of a 1-2-3-4-5 Calvin finish as the Knights posted a perfect 
score of 15 points, becoming just the third team in MIAA men's cross country history 
to record a perfect score at the league championships.  At the Great Lakes Regionals 
November 11 in Hanover, Indiana, Petersen finished seventh with a time of 25:50 
helping the Knights take first place with a team score of 22 points.  Petersen was 
then named to the Great Lakes All-Region team for the second straight year.  A 
four-year member of the Calvin men's cross country team, Petersen also competed at 
the 1999 NCAA III Championships, helping lead the Knights to a fourth place team 
finish as he finished 61st individually with a time of 24:53.

Klooster hails from Chatham, Ontario and is a graduate of Chatham Christian High 
School.  Klooster is making his second straight appearance on the Verizon Academic 
All-District IV team.  As a sophomore, Klooster went on to earn third team Academic 
All-America honors.    An electrical engineering major with a minor in computer 
science, Klooster carries a 3.98 grade point average.  In addition, Klooster is a 
five-time member of the Calvin Dean's List, a two-time member of the MIAA Academic 
Honor Roll and a two-time recipient of the College Cross Country Coaches All-Academic 
award.
 
 
Klooster was also a key member of Calvin's national championship team this fall as he 
earned All-America honors at the national meet by finishing 10th individually with a 
time of 25:21.  His finish was the sixth-best individual finish at the national meet 
in Calvin men's cross country history.  Earlier in the year at the MIAA 
Championships, Klooster finished third with a time of 25:17 to earn a spot on the 
All-MIAA first team for the second straight year.  Two weeks later at the Great Lakes 
Regional, Klooster finished second in 25:35 to earn Great Lakes All-Region accolades 
for the second year in a row.  As a sophomore, Klooster was named the MIAA's MVP and 
as a freshman, he earned a spot on the All-MIAA second team. Klooster was a member of 
Calvin's seven-man contingent that finished fourth at the 1999 NCAA III Championships 
as he finished 51st individually
Klooster and Petersen were part of four individuals from the MIAA to receive academic 
all-district IV honors in the men's at-large division as Evan Whitbeck (swimming) of 
Kalamazoo was named to the first team and David Dwaihy (soccer) of Kalamazoo named to 
the second team.

 
 
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