CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

MEN S AND WOMEN S CROSS COUNTRY

ADRIAN, MI - The nationally-ranked Calvin men s and women s cross country teams opened defense of their MIAA titles with impressive showings at the MIAA Jamboree Saturday afternoon at Adrian s Heritage Park. Ranked number-one in the country, the Calvin women placed first in the women s race with 20 points, claiming seven of the top eight spots. On the men s side, sixth-ranked Calvin placed first with a total of of 27 points, 30 points ahead of 23rd-ranked Hope which finished second.

In the men s race, Calvin junior Dan Hoekstra of Kalamazoo Christian High School made an emphatic statement that he will be the runner to chase in the MIAA this fall as he took first place with a sizzling time of 25:47, 29 seconds ahead of Hope junior Joe Veldman who was second in 26:16. Veldman and Hoekstra battled for the lead in the early stages before Hoekstra broke lose at the three-mile mark to take command of the race.

Calvin sophomore Joel Klooster (Chatham, ON) was next with a third place time of 26:28 while Calvin junior Paul Petersen (Crawfordsville, IN) was close behind in fifth place with a time of 26:38. Rouding out Calvni s top-five were sophomore Justin Momany-Pfruender (Midland) in seventh (26:54) and junior Greg Workman (Chattanooga, TN) in 11th (27:10). Calvin ran Saturday s race without the services of senior co-captains Scott Westhouse (South Christian) and Kent Frens (Fremont) who were out with an illness and injury respectively. Consquently, Workman s 11th place performance Saturday afternoon was critical in Calvin holding off the Flying Dutchmen for first place. Sophomore Peter Armstrong (Seattle, WA) offered insurance for Calvin as he finished in 12th place, a half-second back of Workman.

After Veldman, Hope was led by sophomore Dylan Wade in sixth (26:49); senior Paul Berke in ninth (27:05); sophomore Dane Splinter in 18th (27:51) and freshman Jeremiah Saier in 25th (28:15).

"We ran a very tough gritty race and I could not be prouder of my guys than I am today," said Calvin men s cross country coach Brian Diemer. "We ve run into a little adversity early in the season with some injuries and sickness problems but guys like Greg Workman and Peter Armstrong stepped up with huge performances for us this afternoon."

In the women s race, Hope junior Jennifer Ernst displayed the same form that helped her earn All-America honors in track and field last spring as she cruised to a first-place time of 18:25. Ernst overtook Calvin senior Amy Mizzone (Wayne, NJ) for the lead at the one-mile mark and continued to stretch her lead through the remainder of the race.

The finish by Ernst was not enough to withstand Calvin s powerful pack-running attack however as the Knights took the next seven spots with only a 12-second gap in its top-five and only a 37-second gap in its top-seven. Calvin s top finisher was sophomore Erinn Boot of Kalamazoo Christian High School as she was second with a career-best time of 18:47. Mizzone finished in thrid place, a half-second back of Boot. Rounding out Calvin s top-five was senior Lisa Timmer (Ann Arbor) in fourth (18:48); senior Liz Kuipers (Sarnia, ON) in fifth (18:53) and junior Rashel Bayes (Sparta) in sixth (18:59). Also earning top-10 finishes for the Knights were sophomore Lindsay Carrier (Tri-Unity Christian) in seventh (18:59) and junior April DeKorte (Grand Rapids Christian) in eighth (19:04). The performances by Timmer and Mizzone were particularly impressive as both runners were fighting off week-long bouts with the flu.

"We ve been struggling with injuries and sickness all week so I did not expect this strong of a performance," said Calvin women s cross country coach Nancy Meyer. "I was extremely pleased with our pack running and the way our runners fought through sickness. We knew that we would have to work together in order to do well and we did that today."

Rounding out Hope s top-five were Jami Grant in 11th (19:37); Kristen Post in 18th (19:50); Nicole Reynolds in 25th (20:02) and Kelly Clarkson in 26th (20:04).

The MIAA Jamboree is worth one-third of the final MIAA standings with the league championships making up the remaining two-thirds of the league crown. The Calvin men have won the last 12 MIAA titles while the Calvni women have won the last 11 MIAA crowns.

The MIAA Championships are scheduled for October 30 at Kalamazoo College.

Both Calvin cross country teams will compete at the prestigious Notre Dame Invitational next Friday. A group of Calvin runners from both teams will also compete at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational the following morning.

MIAA MEN S CROSS COUNTRY JAMBOREE AT Adrian (Heritage Park)

TEAM SCORES�Calvin 27, Hope 57, Kalamazoo 68, Alma 120, Adrian 130, Albion 136, Olivet 205, Defiance 243.

Top 10 Finishers�1. Dan Hoekstra (Calvin) 25:47; 2. Joe Veldman (Hope) 26:16; 3. Joel Klooster (Calvin) 26:28; 4. Kory Kramer (Kalamazoo) 26:35; 5. Paul Petersen (Calvin) 26:38; 6. Dylan Wade (Hope) 26:49; 7. Justin Momany-Pfruender (Calvin) 26:54; 8. Ian Schmidt (Kalamazoo) 26:57; 9. Paul Berke (Hope) 27:05; 10. Brandon Lawson (Albion) 27:09.

OTHER CALVIN FINISHERS�11. Greg Workman 27:10; 14. Dave Ritsema 27:35; 15. Michael Richardson 27:35.

OTHER HOPE FINISHERS�18. Dane Splinter 27:51; 25. Jeremiah Saier 28:15; 27. Jeff Kauffman 28:23; 29. Keith Cravotta 28:40.

MIAA WOMEN S CROSS COUNTRY JAMBOREE At Adrian (Heritage Park)

TEAM SCORES�Calvin 20, Hope 67, Albion 99, Alma 101, Kalamazoo 144, Adrian 147, Defiance 204, St. Mary s 217.

TOP 10 FINISHERS�1. Jenny Ernst (Hope) 18:25; 2. Erinn Boot (Calvin) 18:47; 3. Amy Mizzone (Calvin) 18:47; 4. Lisa Timmer (Calvin) 18:48; 5. Liz Kuipers (Calvin) 18:53; 6. Rashel Bayes (18:59); 7. Lindsay Carrier (Calvin) 19:04; 8. April DeKorte (Calvin) 19:24.

OTHER CALVIN FINISHERS�13. Molly Delcamp 19:39; 14. Laura Medema 19:40; 16. Brooke Wierenga 19:43; 17. Kris Lumkes 19:44.

OTHER HOPE FINISHERS�11. Jami Grant 19:37; 18. Kristen Post 19:50; 25. Nicole Reynolds 20:02; 26. Kelly Clarkson 20:04; 27. Sarah Scripsema 20:05; 28. Kathryn Veldman 20:05. -end-