September 15, 2007

KENTWOOD -- In a meeting of nationally-ranked teams, the Calvin men's and women's cross country teams successfully defended their titles at the Calvin Knight Invitational on Saturday morning at the Gainey Athletic Complex. In the women's 5K race, second-ranked Calvin held off 12th-ranked Case Western Reserve to win with a total of 36 points, six points ahead of the hard-charging Spartans. In the men's 8K race, top-ranked Calvin took first place with a total of 31 points, outdistancing local Grand Rapids rival Aquinas College which placed second with 75 points. Ohio Northern, ranked 23rd in Division III, was a close third with 78 points.

The Calvin/Case Western Reserve matchup in the women's race featured yet another chapter in what is turning into a strong rivalry in the Great Lakes Region. A year ago, Case Western Reserve upset the Knights at the Great Lakes Regional meet, taking first place with a score of 53 points, four points ahead of second place Calvin. The following week at the NCAA III Championships, Calvin took third while Case Western Reserve was 10th.

Calvin won Saturday's race by placing four runners in the top 10 including five in the top 12 to edge the Spartans by six points. Case Western Reserve senior Esther Erb took first place individually with a blistering time of 17:22, finishing 25 seconds ahead of runner-up Ayla Mitchell of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Calvin's top runner was junior Lauren Bergstrom (Century, MN) who took third with a time of 18:02 while senior teammate Christina Overbeck (Seattle, WA) was fourth in 18:04. Junior Jesi Hale (Rehoboth, NM) also had a strong race for the Knights, finishing eighth with a time of 18:15 while senior Lynn Marsh (New Jennings, IN) was close behind with an impressive time of 18:26. Junior Calah Schlabach (St. Michael, AZ) was Calvin's fifth runner, placing 12th with a time of 18:35. Closing out Calvin's top seven was freshman Allison Tuuk (Grand Rapids Christian HS) in 15th place (18:45) and sophomore Elizabeth Smit (Kirkland, WA) in 18th place (18:50).

"We had a good effort but we also have quite a bit of room for improvement," said Calvin head cross country coach Brian Diemer. "This was not an easy warm-up season opener by any means. It was a real test and I give a great deal of credit to Case Western Reserve for that. It was obvious that they (Case) came in here today looking to set the tone and they did that by getting off to a very strong start in the race. We were able to come back and win the race but there's no doubt that Case (Western Reserve) will be a team to be reckoned with this year."

Diemer also stated that he believes his team will continue to improve. "One of our goals this year is to run with heart and determination and I think we did that today," said Diemer. "I think some of race tactics and pacing can be improved but our heart and determination was there today which is a good sign. This should be a fun season."

In the men's race, Calvin's lead pack broke up challenges from Aquinas and Heidelberg as the Knights took three of the top four spots including five of the top 12. Calvin junior Jed Christiansen (Greenville, PA) took first place honors with a time of 24:49, finishing 13 seconds ahead of runner-up Chris Robertz of Aquinas. Calvin took the next two spots as senior Tad Hulst (Zeeland HS) was third (25:06) and senior Jon Gries (King of Prussia, PA) fourth (25:11). Next up for the Knights were senior Dan VanAkker and junior Nate DeHaan of South Christian High School with DeHaan taking 11th (25:32) and VandenAkker 12th (25:34). Rounding out Calvin's top seven were junior Erik VanKampen (Elmhurst, IL) in 20th (25:46) and junior Andrew Stutzman (Kutztown, PA) in 26th (25:57).

"The men's race was also a real tester for a season opener," said Diemer. "I was pleased with our effort but like our women's team, we have some things to work on. Our top three today were very very good."

According to Calvin assistant coach Al Hoekstra, ideal running conditions made for extremely fast times on Saturday. "It was a beautiful day to race and that made for very very fast times," said Hoekstra. "In looking at the results, just about every team ran well. This was a positive way to open our season for both Calvin teams today but we also have a long way to go. But we're also looking forward to the challenge."

WOMEN'S RESULTS
MEN'S RESULTS

WOMEN'S RACE PHOTO GALLERY
MEN'S RACE PHOTO GALLERY