Written by Calvin Sports Information Director Jeff Febus

Strong competition is also expected for the two qualifying team spots for the upcoming NCAA III Championships available at this week’s 8K Great Lakes Regional meet at Calvin’s Gainey Athletic Complex as five nationally-ranked teams are among the field. Defending national champion Calvin leads the list as the Knights are the number-one ranked team in the country and have remained in that spot since the opening poll of the year. The hard-charging Polar Bears of Ohio Northern are ranked 11th  however while Heidelberg is ranked 23rd, Mount Union 24th and Case Western Reserve 29th.

The 10-time defending Great Lakes Regional champion Knights of Calvin College have four returning All-Americans in senior Jon Gries and juniors Jed Christiansen, Erik VanKampen and Nate DeHaan. Christiansen holds the Gainey Athletic (8K) course record with a time of 24:33 clocked at the Great Lakes Pre-Regional Invitational October 13. A year ago, Christiansen was second at the Great Lakes Regional and fifth at the NCAA III Championships to earn his second straight All-America plaque. Gries was third at the Great Lakes Regional in 2006 and 12th at the national meet to claim his first All-America berth.  VanKampen was seventh at the 2006 Great Lakes Regional and 17th at the NCAA III Championships while DeHaan was 14th at the regional and 31st at the national meet as both individuals were All-Americans for the first time.  Other runners to watch for the top-ranked Knights are seniors Tad Hulst and Dan VandenAkker. Hulst was 12th at last year’s regional, 51st at the national meet and then took first at the 2007 MIAA Championships to earn MIAA MVP honors. VandenAkker was 11th at the pre-regional meet this past month and fourth at the MIAA Championships.

Ohio Northern captured the championship of the rugged Ohio Athletic Conference two weeks ago, posting a first place score of 38 points, 10 points ahead of Heidelberg and 12 points ahead of Mount Union. Senior Jimmy O’Brien led the Polar Bears at the OAC Championships with a first place time of 25:53. Also a standout in track and field, O’Brien is the defending indoor and outdoor national champion in the 800 meter run. Other runners to watch from Ohio Northern include Eric Porter and Paul Lewis. At the Calvin Knight Invitational in September, Thomas was seventh and Porter 15th. In addition, Lewis was 13th at the 2006 Great Lakes Regional meet. Heidelberg is led by Scott Lasch who was second at the OAC Championships with a time of 26:09 while teammate Dan Simpson was third and Devin Butcher seventh. Lasch was also sixth at the 2006 Great Lakes Regional meet while Simpson was ninth. Lasch is one five returning All-Americans in this year’s Great Lakes Regional field as he took 33rd at the 2006 NCAA III Championships. The Purple Raiders of Mount Union are paced by Dustin Ford who was fourth at the OAC Championships and Kyle Basista who was fifth. Ty Griffin of Mount Union also cracked the OAC Top 10, placing 10th at the conference meet. Ranked sixth in the Great Lakes Region, Otterbein is another formidable team from the OAC. The Cardinals are led by Chase Schneider who was ninth at the OAC Championships.

The Spartans of Case Western Reserve took second at the University Athletic Association Championships two weeks ago behind second-ranked New York University, posting a team score of 68 points. Dominic Smith was the top runner for Case Western Reserve with a fifth place time of 25:21.

Ranked seventh in the Great Lakes Region, DePauw took second at the recent Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships. Dustin Dame cracked the top 10 for the Tigers, finishing fourth with a time of 26:01. The eight-ranked team in the Great Lakes Region is Anderson, the champions of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. At the HCAC Championships, the Ravens posted a first place score of 30 points. Anderson’s Sean Hudson was the HCAC individual champion with a time of 26:08 while Troy Pryor was fifth, Matt Helm sixth and Dan DeYoung seventh for the Ravens. A year ago, Hudson was 15th at the Great Lakes Regional meet held at Hanover College.

Ranked ninth in the Great Lakes Region, Tri-State was the MIAA runner-up this fall, posting a second place score of 57 points. The top runner for the Thunder has been Justin Kowalski who was ninth at the MIAA Championships while teammate Darin King was 10th. Denison is the team to watch out for from the North Coast Athletic Conference. Ranked 10th in the Great Lakes Region, the Big Red took second at the NCAC Championships two weeks ago with a team score of 84 points with 12th-ranked Allegheny taking first with 19 points. Joel Bendtsen was the top Denison finisher, placing third with a time of 25:37.