RESULTS
CHICAGO, Il. – The Calvin men's indoor track and field had a strong showing on day one of the Aurora University Grand Rapids Friday night.
The Knights produced a pair of first place performances and continued to make their mark on the national and MIAA indoor performance lists.
Calvin's distance medley relay highlighted the day as the relay team of sophomore
Nicholas Henz (Oswego, Il./Oswego East HS), freshman
Connor Lubberts (Jenison, Mich./Jenison HS), senior
Lucas VanderPloeg (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian HS) and senior
Brandan Knepper (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg Area HS) took first place with a time of 10:18.43. The time ranks third on the NCAA III Indoor Performance list and ranks as the top time in the MIAA this winter.
In the 5000 meter run, senior Will Hofmann (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Grosse Point South HS) led a 1-4 Calvin finish as he took first place with an MIAA-leading time of 14:53.83 while junior
Eric Swinson (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern HS) was fourth in a time of 15:08.90. The time by Swinson ranks second on the MIAA Indoor Performance list. Sophomore
Trent Sivils (Chesapeake, Va./Stonebridge School) was 27
th in a time of 16:16.36.
In the 800 meters, Henz took 11
th (1:58.18), Knepper was 18
th (2:00.78) and VanderPloeg 21
st (2:00.98) with the time by Henz ranking fifth on the MIAA Indoor Performance list.
The Knights also had a strong set of performances in the 3000 meter run with sophomore
Luke Witvliet (Grandville, Mich./Calvin Christian HS) taking fifth (8:37.56), senior
Derek Sall (Grandville, Mich./Grandville Calvin Christian HS) placing 16
th (8:56.27) and junior
Jacob Buit (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian HS) placing 35
th (9:16.36).
The time by Witvliet ranks fourth on the MIAA Indoor Performance list with Calvin owning six of the top eight times.
COACHES COMMENT: ""A great start to a big weekend with a portion of our Men's team competing in Chicago at the Aurora Gran Prix today," said Calvin head track and field coach Adam Haldorson. "Will Hofmann got us going early with a strong performance in the 5000m, winning the event and is now currently ranked #29 nationally. The men's DMR built on that energy winning the meet and are currently ranked #3 in the nation while also leading the MIAA by almost 20 seconds. We have a split day on Saturday with some of our Women competing at Day 2 of the Aurora Grand Prix, and then a larger portion of the squad competing at Hillsdale College. We look to continue the momentum started today through the rest of the weekend!"
NEXT UP: Calvin will send a group of athletes to compete at an invitational hosted by Hillsdale College on Saturday.
