Calvin College Press Release

November 23, 2002

NORTHFIELD, MN -- An unexpected encore performance and another top 10 finish from an inexperienced squad highlighted the afternoon for the Calvin men's and women's cross country teams Saturday afternoon at the NCAA III Cross Country Championships hosted by St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Ranked eighth heading into Saturday's race, the Calvin men took second place with 122 points to post its fifth consecutive top-four national finish and its second straight national runner-up berth. Top-ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh held form, taking first place with 66 points. Third-ranked North Central of Illinois took third with 146 points with fourth-ranked Nebraska Wesleyan taking fourth with 178 points.

Calvin's second place national finish marked its third national runner-up berth in the last five years. Over the last five years, the Calvin men's cross country team has posted the best combined set of national finishes of any NCAA III men's cross country program as the Knights also placed fourth in 1999 and first in 2000.

The Calvin men received a pair of All-America performances on Saturday as sophomore Hendrik Kok of Lynden, Washington took ninth individually with a time of 25:30 while sophomore Brian Maat of Holland earned an All-America berth for the second straight year with a time of 25:39 that was good for 24th place individually.

Junior Kris Koster (Grand Rapids Christian HS) and sophomore David Haagsma (South Christian HS) also had outstanding performances for the Knights as Koster finished 43rd in 25:54 while Haagsma was 49th in 25:57. Junior Ti m Avery (Rochester, NY) was close behind to serve as Calvin's all-important fifth man as he placed 60th with a time of 26:01. Rounding out Calvin's finishers were junior Brian Paff (National City, CA) in 78th (26:14) and senior Josh VanderWiele (Midland Park, NJ) in 159th place (27:03).

Senior Ryan Bak of Trinity College of Connecticut captured the NCAA III individual title with a first place time of 25:01.

"Our goal for the day was to finish in the top four and stand on the podium at the awards ceremony and we met that goal," said Calvin men's cross country coach Brian Diemer. "Our guys ran with heart and joy and their running was their gift to the Lord."

According to Al Hoekstra who shares the coaching duties with Diemer, the team had a sense of peace and confidence heading into Saturday's race. "Last night we had a great devotional together and the guys felt a sense of calm and peace that carried them into today's race. Our team has fought the stigma this year of being a group of underachievers but today this team was a group of overachievers."

In the women's competition, Calvin just missed a top-four berth as the Knights were fifth with 264 points, just eight points behind fourth place Washington of Missouri. Calvin entered Saturday's race tied for fourth place in the national rankings with Wartburg College (IA) in the national rankings. Wartburg took third with 209 points with two-time defending champion Middlebury (CT) taking second with 145 points and Williams (MA) claiming its first-ever national championship with a team score of 42 points.

Calvin also received a pair of All-America performances as juniors Jessie Lair (Southfield Christian HS) and Sarah Hastings (Traverse City Central HS) were 13th and 25h respectively. Lair raced across the finish line in a time of 22:00 while Hastings came in with a time of 22:19.

Calvin's third finisher was Senior Tami VerMeulen (Holland Christian HS) who placed 77th in 23:02 while freshman Camille Medema (Grand Rapids Christian HS) was 117th place with a time of 23:35. Rounding out Calvin's finishers were senior Jodi VerMeulen (Holland Christian HS) in 162nd place (24:06) and senior Sarah Tinholt (Kalamazoo Christian HS) in 178th (24:19).

Missy Buttry of Wartburg College captured the individual national title on Saturday with a first place time of 20:17.

"It was great to see our team produce two All-Americans today," said women's cross country coach Nancy Meyer. "Jessie Lair and Sarah Hastings each had exceptional races. We had to battle some sickness with a few other runners on our team. If our team had been completely healthy, we probably would be taking home a trophy (top four finish). Considering that we had a very inexperienced team running at nationals this year however, I am thrilled with our finish and proud of every one of my runners."

The fifth place team finish by Calvin marked its 11th top-10 national finish in school history including its 11th in the last 12 years.

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