Men’s Cross Country Ranked Third/Women’s Cross Country Ranked Seventh in Latest Set of National Poll
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
The Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams continue to hold their spots in the latest set of national rankings released by the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association. The Calvin men are again ranked third while the Calvin women are again ranked seventh. North Central (IL) continues to be the top-ranked team on the men’s side while Williams (MA) has taken over the top spot in the women’s poll. Both Calvin teams are preparing to compete at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational this Saturday.
Jed Christiansen Third American at Chicago Marathon - Qualifies for U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials
Monday, October 10, 2011
Jed Christiansen, a 2010 Calvin College graduate, had the finest marathon performance of his running career this past weekend at the Chicago Marathon. A native of Greenville, Pennsylvania, Christiansen took 14th at the 2011 Chicago Marathon with a career-best time of 2:18.31, a pace of 5:18 per mile. Not only was Christiansen the 14th individual finisher at the Chicago Marathon, but he was also the third American finisher. His time was also a qualifying time for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon trials - scheduled for January 14 in Houston, Texas. A graduate of Greenville High School in Pennsylvania, Christiansen is the second Calvin alum to qualify for the upcoming U.S. Olympic trials as 2001 .
Calvin graduate Paul Petersen also qualified with a time of 2:17.35 at the Boston Marathon this past April. Also of note, 2008 Calvin graduate Christina Overbeck was the 24th individual finisher on the women’s side with a time of 2:47.07. She was also the 10th American woman to finish the race. Her time was just shy of the “B” standard for the U.S. Olympic Marathon trials. At Calvin, Overbeck was an NCAA III All-American in both cross country and track and field.
Calvin Cross Country Teams Compete at Michigan Intercollegiates at Hillsdale College
Friday, October 07, 2011
HILLSDALE - The Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the Michigan Intercollegiates on Friday at the Hayden Park cross country course on the campus of Hillsdale College. The competition included teams from around the state of Michigan from the NCAA Division I, II and III ranks as well as the NAIA level. On the men’s side, Calvin chose not to run its top group in order to prepare for the Wisconsin-Oshkosh pre-national meet next Saturday. Neverthless, the Knights still managed to finish fourth in the small college division behind Wayne State, Grand Valley State and host Hillsdale with a total of 148 points. Calvin’s top runner was junior Kevin Peterson with a time of 26:53 on the 8K course. In the women’s 5K race, Calvin took second in the small college division with 79 points with Saginaw Valley State winning with 62 points. Calvin also chose not to run all of its top seven on Friday with the Wisconsin-Oshkoh pre-national race looming next week. Calvin did run its top two runners in senior Jodi Hoekstra and junior Alyssa Penning and both individuals flashed fine form with Hoekstra taking second (18:22) and Penning third (18:28).
