May 26, 2007 (Day Three Report)
(written by Jeff Febus and Bruce VanBaren)

Oshkosh, Wis – For the fourth time in school history and for the third time in the last four years, the Calvin women’s track and field team has earned a national runner-up finish. Under the direction of head coach Jong-il Kim, the Knights took second at the 2007 NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championships with 44.5 points. It marks the seventh top-four national finish in Calvin women’s track and field history.

The host Titans of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh captured their third national title in the last four years with a team total of 57 points.

With just four events left in the meet, Calvin actually appeared poised to challenge for national title as the Knights have moved into first place with 38.5 points after a second place finish by junior Sarah Wittingen (East Grand Rapids HS) and senior Megann VanderVliet (Oakville, ON) sitting in second place in the shot put with just one round of throws left. But then the meet took a dramatic swing in favor of the Titans as Oshkosh freshman Kayla Sharpee moved up into second with a big throw of 45-2 ¼ and Oshkosh senior Nadine Pieske followed with a first place time of 24.72 in the 200 meters just moments later. The pair of finishes vaulted Wisconsin-Oshkosh back into first place with a total of 51 points, affectively sealing the meet for the Titans.

“Our women’s team competed very well and for a moment, it looked like we might have a chance to win (the national title),” said Kim. “But they (Wisconsin-Oshkosh) came up with some key performances when they needed to and I congratulate them on their performance. But I am also very proud of my women’s team. A second place team finish is a great accomplishment and our entire team and coaching staff played a role in finishing where we did.”

Saturday’s competition took place in driving rains and cool temperatures, forcing athletes to adjust to the conditions. “We had rain in two of the three days of competition and I think that had an affect on teams at this meet,” said Kim. “Some teams were able to weather the conditions but others suffered injuries to their athletes. At a national meet, you have to expect changing weather conditions and adjust as best as you can.”

On the men’s side, Calvin finished 26th with 11 points, adding another All-America berth on Saturday as senior Todd Schuster (Denver, CO) took third in the 800 meters with a time of 1:53.59. Wisconsin-LaCrosse took the national title on the men’s side with a dominating total of 99 points, 65 points ahead of second place Cortland State of New York.

Schuster’s finish is the best in MIAA men’s track and field history in the 800 meters and is also Calvin’s first All-America performance in the event on the men’s side since 1992. In the race, Schuster moved from near the back of the pack to the outside in the final turn and then moved past several competitors down the final stretch and nearly came away with the win, finishing just behind Jeff Zodda of the College of New Jersey (1:53.53) and national champion Jimmy O’Brien of Ohio Northern (1:53.16).

“The pace for the 800 was slow and that was to my advantage because I had quite a bit of kick left,” said Schuster. “At a national race, you usually want to get out strong because it is difficult to kick down the best 800 meter runners in the country but yesterday I used the same tactics in the prelims so I thought I would try the same thing today. It worked out great and coming down the stretch, I was going for the win. But I’m also ecstatic with my place. I had a huge crowd of Calvin supporters cheering me on and I can’t tell you how good that made me feel during and after the race.”

The Calvin women’s team came up with five All-America performances on Saturday to finish the three-day competition with a total of 10 All-America berths.

Wittingen helped lead the way on Saturday with a sixth place finish in the 100 meter hurdles (14.99) and a second place finish in the 400 meter hurdles (59.96). She also ran a leg on Calvin’s fourth place 4x400 meter relay team that clocked in with a time of 3:46.98. The relay also included senior Lisa Winkle (South Christian HS) and freshmen Jourdan Johnson (Gales Ferry, CT/Nedyard HS) and Heather Koning (Kalamazoo Christian HS). Wittingen’s time in the 400 meter hurdles was a school record by nearly a full second, breaking her previous record of 60.64. Wittingen was edged for the national title by Fawn Dorr of Cortland State who took first place in a time of 59.50.

“I wasn’t concerned about my individual finish as much as I was concerned about picking up points and helping our team finish high,” said Wittingen. “I have an amazing group of teammates and coaches and they all gave me a big lift today and I was happy to give back as much as I was able.”

Winkle also gave back in the final race of her remarkable Calvin athletic career. With just 150 meters left in the 4x400 meter relay and Winkle running the anchor leg, Calvin sat in sixth place, needing at least a fifth place finish in the event to move into second place in the final team standings. Winkle then dug down, found one last burst of energy and moved past two competitors into fourth place, nearly edging a runner from Wisconsin-Oshkosh for third.

“I knew we needed at least a fifth place finish to move up into second and I wanted to go out on as high of a note as possible,” said Winkle after the meet with her back tightly wrapped in ice. “This is the third national runner-up team that I have been a part of and I’m sure it is something that I will look back on later and appreciate even more. Calvin has an amazing track and field program and I’m just glad to have been a part of it.”

Earlier in the meet, Winkle repeated as an All-American in the 400 meters with a fifth place time of 55.82. Along with her All-America performance in the long jump and relay this week, Winkle finishes her Calvin track and field career as a 10-time All-American including a four-time All-American individually.

Senior Megann Vander Vliet followed up Thursday’s fourth place All-American performance in the discus throw with her second All-American performance of the 2007 nationals placing fifth in the shot put. VanderVliet will finish her career as a four time All-American, three times in the shot put and one time in the discus. Along with Katie Corner, she is the only individual in Calvin and MIAA women’s track and field history to earn All-America awards in the discus and shot put in the same meet.

Just as the rains turned into a downpour, VanderVliet launched a season best throw of 44-7, over three feet further than her previous two throws, moving her into second place after the first flight of the trials. After the second flight of trials, Vander Vliet was still in second place heading into the finals.

“I tried to block everything out and thought what happens, happens,” said Vander Vliet. “My hands and neck were wet and I’m not sure how it happened, but I heard the crowd cheer [when it landed] and I knew it was alright.”

In the finals while throwing in standing water in the throwing ring, Vander Vliet was unable to improve on her distance of 44-7. Loras College senior Dana Klemm separated herself from the competition on her second throw with a monster distance of 47-6 ½. Klemm’s throw moved her past Williams College senior Alex Phillips who set the bar high early when her throw, only the second overall, landed a distance of 44-9 ½. On their final throws, Wisconsin River Falls junior Krista Hasselquist and Wisconsin Oshkosh freshman Kayla Sharpee each threw 45-2 ¼ dropping Vander Vliet to fifth. Vander Vliet threw seventh out of the nine finalists and on her final throw she reached adistance of 44-2 ½.

“I’m thrilled being an All-American again,” said Vander Vliet. “It’s kind of bittersweet thinking maybe the weather could have been better and then I could have done better, but it’s a season best and I have to be happy with it.”

Vander Vliet was seeded ninth in the shot put with a distance of 44-6. VanderVliet was an All-American in the shot put for the third straight year, finishing third at the 2005 NCAA III Championships and seventh at the 2006 national meet. She was also the MIAA Champion in the shot put and discus this spring and landed a spot on the All-MIAA team for a third straight year. In addition, she was named the MIAA's Most Outstanding Field Event Performer.

In her two events, discus and shot put, VanderVliet amassed nine total points for Calvin.

Senior Kristen Kalb (Stow, Ohio/ Stow Munroe Falls) came up with a career best performance in the javelin throw, but was just seven inches shy of the finals. On her first two throws Kalb threw low line drives that fell shy of 100 feet, well short of her average mark. However, on her third and final throw, Kalb reached back and threw a career high distance of 133-2.

University of La Verne senior Veronica Andrews took the ninth and last qualifying position for the finals with a distance of 133-9 which came on her second throw in the first flight. Kalb threw in the second flight and came up just short of Andrew’s mark and the finals, despite her career best mark.

Kalb was seeded 17th with a distance of 131-4 which came at the last chance meet at North Central College last week. Earlier this spring, Kalb was the MIAA champion in the javelin (130-9) and earned a spot on the All- MIAA team. A senior, Kalb is only in her second season in the javelin. Kalb was a first team All- American in volleyball this past fall.

Central College (IA) senior Alicia Whisner was the national champion setting a new J.J. Keller field record with a mark of 153-9. The final All-American distance in eighth place was 135-11, 1-9 further than Kalb’s career best throw.

In the 5000 meter run, junior Christina Overbeck (Seattle, Washington/ Bellevue Christian) started strong, but was involved in a tangle with seven laps remaining that caused her and three other runners to hit the wet track hard. Overbeck quickly recovered and regained seventh place, but she never appeared the same and the front pack eventually separated from her. Overbeck finished in 12th with a time of 17:32.00.

Overbeck was seeded sixth with a time of 16:59.88. A year ago, Overbeck qualified for the national meet in the 10,000 meters and finished 13th. This fall, Overbeck earned All-America cross country honors, finishing sixth at the NCAA III Championships. This spring, Overbeck defended her MIAA champion in the 10,000 meters and landed a spot on the All-MIAA team for the second straight year.

In the 5000 meter run, sophomore Jed Christiansen (Greenville, Pennsylvania/ Greenville) stuck with the pack throughout the first half of the race. But with four laps to go, the top eight All-Americans separated themselves from the pack. Christiansen finished fourteenth with a time of 14:58.51 in 14th place.

Christiansen was seeded 11th with a time of 14:32.29. A year ago, Christiansen competed in the both the 10,000 meters (16th) and 5,000 meters (10th) at the national meet. Christiansen is also a two-time All-MIAA selection in track and field.

Day Two Recap
Day One Recap
Photo Gallery
Men's Results
Women's Results

FINAL NOTES FROM THE NCAA III MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

**Calvin's two visits to Oshkosh for NCAA III Championship competition has been fruitful. In 1999, Calvin competed at the NCAA III Cross Country Championships hosted by Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the Calvin women's team went on to win its second consecutive national title while its men's team took fourth.

**The Amherst women's team took fourth place with a team score of 41 points. The Lord Jeffs were paced by the amazing performance of senior distance runner Shauneen Garrahan who captured national titles in the 10,000 meters, 3,000 meter steeplechase and 5,000 meters on consecutive days. Garrahan was named the Most Outstanding Runner of the women's meet. Her time of 10:13.33 in the 3,000 meter steeplechase was a new NCAA III Championships record.

**The MIAA was well represented at the NCAA III Championships as Alma, Albion and Hope all had athletes at the meet. Hope had three All-Americans on the women's side and scored 11.5 points for 22nd place while Alma had a pair of All-America efforts on the men's side to score points two points and finish 66th place. Albion had individuals compete in the shot put, triple jump, long jump and 1500 meters but did not score any points. The Hope men also picked up an All-America performance and scored five points for 42nd place.

**In winning the men's national title on Saturday, Wisconsin-Lacrosse captured its sixth outdoor national title in the last seven years and its 11th outdoor title overall.

**Calvin sophomore Lauren Bergstrom (Rochester, MN) will also receive an All-America plaque for serving as an alternate on Calvin's 4x400 women's relay team and running a leg on the relay in the Thursday night prelims.

**Calvin junior Kelby McCelland (Mercer, PA) also competed in the 110 high hurdle prelims on Friday and just missed qualifying for the finals, recording a time of 14.79 that was the second-best time of his career.