CALVIN SPORTS REPORT

November 16, 2002

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

LIMA, OH -- Neither rain, sleet, snow or mud could keep the nationally-ranked Calvin men's and women's cross country teams from claiming Great Lakes Regional titles Saturday afternoon. Despite adverse weather conditions, both teams sparkled at the regional meets hosted by Ohio Northern University as the Calvin men took first place with 39 points while the Calvin women claimed first place with a total of 70 points.

For the Calvin men, the regional crown was their seventh straight including their 14th in the last 16 years while the Calvin women claimed an unprecedented 14th straight regional title. Both teams now advance to the NCAA III Championships next Saturday in Northfield, Minnesota. St. Olaf College will serve as host.

Ranked fifth in the latest NCAA III National poll, the Calvin women's cross country team knew that its regional championship streak was in peril with ninth-ranked Baldwin-Wallace (OH) nipping at its heels. Calvin responded to the challenge, finishing 17 points ahead of Baldwin-Wallace in Saturday's 6K race as several Knights came up with clutch performances. The race also marked the first year that the regional meet has been run at a 6K distance after having previously been run at a 5K distance. One of the most heroic efforts came from freshman Camille Medema (Grand Rapids Christian HS) who came up with a time of 23:21 to finish 27th individually and serve as Calvin's all-important fifth runner.

Calvin was led by junior Jessie Lair (Southfield Christian HS) who placed second in 21:58, 11 seconds behind Lisa Nicholson of Anderson who captured her third straight Great Lakes Regional individual title. Also finishing in the top 10 for the Knights was junior Sarah Hastings (Traverse City Central HS) in sixth place (22:26) while senior Jodi VerMeulen (Holland Christian HS) was 14th (23:05) and senior Tami VerMeulen 21st (23:11). Rounding out Calvin's finishers were seniors Sarah Tinholt (Kalamazoo Christian HS) and Laura Scholma-Medema (Grand Rapids Christian HS) with Tinholt finishing 55th (24:02) and Scholma-Medema 58th (24:04).

Lair, Hastings, Tami and Jodi VerMeulen and Camille Medema were all named to the Great Lakes All-Region team.

"We were just ecstatic with our finish today," said Calvin women's cross country coach Nancy Meyer. "Our regional championship streak was in serious jeopardy because we knew Baldwin-Wallace would push us to the limit. We responded and kept our tradition alive. The mental focus of our team despite the weather conditions was incredible. The big difference in our finish was the performance of our 3-4-5 runners. They came through with clutch races."

In the men's 8K race, Calvin breezed its way to first place as the Knights placed five runners in the top 15 with sophomore Hendrik Kok (Lynden, WA) leading the pack with a first place individual finish of 24:49. Mount Union took second in the team standings wtih 68 points. The first place individual finish by Kok marked the third straight year a Calvin men's cross country runner has claimed the Great Lakes Region individual title including the eighth time in Calvin men's cross country history.

Also cracking the top 10 for Calvin was sophomore Brian Maat (Holland Christian HS) who was sixth in 25:08, junior Kris Koster (Grand Rapids Christian HS) who took eighth in 25:11 and sophomore David Haagsma (South Christian HS) who was 10th in 25:22. Koster ran the bulk of Saturday's race with one shoe as a muddy section of the course sucked off one of his shoes one mile into the race. Rounding out Calvin's finishers were junior Brian Paff (National City, CA) in 14th place (25:34), junior Tim Avery (Rochester , NY) in 25th (25:46) and sophomore Jeff Engbers (Whitinsville, MA) in 31st (26:02).

All seven Calvin runners were named to the Great Lakes All-Region team.

"We had an excellent performance," said Calvin men's cross country coach Brian Diemer. "Our team was very focused heading into the race and we maintained our focus despite very nasty running conditions. Kris Koster was a perfect example of that focus. He had to run about 80 percent of the race with a bare foot through snow, water and mud and he did not let it affect him. That race was probably the best of his career and was impressive to watch. We're starting to peak at the right time and we're looking to step it up another notch next week."

The Calvin men's cross country team will be making its 18th team appearance at the NCAA III Championships next Saturday which ranks among the top 10 in NCAA III men's cross country history. On the women's side, Calvin will be making its 14th team appearance at nationals which also ranks among the top 10 in NCAA III women's cross country history.

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