Penning Punches Ticket to NCAA III Championships at Gregory Invitational
Saturday, May 21, 2011
NAPERVILLE, IL - With her first and only chance to qualify for the NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Calvin College sophomore Alyssa Penning stepped up and delivered Friday night at the Gregory Invitational hosted by North Central College. A graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School, Penning took first place in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with an NCAA III provisional qualifying time of 10:43.97. Her time was less than a second off an automatic qualifying time and places her 10th on the national qualifying list. The performance will almost certainly assure her of a trip to the NCAA III Championships next weekend in Delaware, Ohio. A Dean’s List student at Calvin majoring in Spanish, Penning has missed nearly the entire outdoor track and field season as she spent the second semester studying in Spain to fulfill requirements for her academic major. While in Spain, Penning trained on her own and returned to Calvin earlier this week. Her race on Friday night was her first of the outdoor track and field season and also was a career-best effort.
Calvin Track & Field Teams Remain In USTFCCCA Division III Top 25 Rankings
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Calvin men’s and women’s track and field teams are both ranked in this week’s Division III Top 25 poll released by the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association. The rankings are computerized polls. The computer rankings are new for the 2011 season. Mathematical formulae based on current national descending-order lists in all events are used to compile a team’s ranking. The purpose of the rankings is to create an index that showcases the teams that have the best potential of achieving the top spots at the NCAA Division III National Championships. The Calvin men are ranked 15th in this week’s poll while the Calvin women are ranked 10th. In addition, the Calvin men are ranked third in the Great Lakes Region by the USTFCCCA while the Calvin women are the top-ranked team in the Great Lakes Region.
Track & Field Teams Compete at Dr. Keeler Invitational
Saturday, May 14, 2011
NAPERVILLE, IL – The Calvin men’s and women’s track and field teams sent a group of athletes to the Dr. Keeler Invitational Thursday and Friday and came away with a handful of standout performances. Junior Nick Kramer (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian HS) led the way for the men’s team with an NCAA III automatic qualifying time in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, clocking in with a season-best effort of 9:06.04. Sophomore teammate Matt VanderRoest (Ann Arbor/Ann Arbor Huron HS) also had a season-best and NCAA III provisional qualifying time of 9:16.54. On the women’s side, junior Jodi Hoekstra (Homer Glen, IL/Chicago Christian HS) just missed a provisional time in the 1,500 meters, clocking in with a season-best effort of 4:38.97. Junior Kaitlin Diemer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) also had a season-best time of 4:39.74. In the women’s javelin, senior Kim Wigboldy (Chandler, AZ/Valley Christian HS) had a career-best and NCAA III provisional qualifying mark of 130-3 that was good for second place.
