Results
OLIVET, Mich. - The Calvin University men's track and field team finished a strong opening day at the MIAA Track & Field Championships in third place at Olivet College on Thursday.
The Knights finished the day with 22 points, good for third place behind Trine (84) and Albion (45) heading into Friday's second and final day.
William Hofmann (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Grosse Pointe North) had the top performance on the day, taking first place in the 10,000 meters in a time of 32:19.6 with a strong kick in the final lap to stay ahead of several close finishers.
Thomas Noble (Lakewood, Colo./Denver Christian) added one point with an eighth-place finish in the event.
Four field events took place on the opening day, with two Calvin throwers taking home fifth-place finishes.
James Viel (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) finished fifth in the shot put (14.08 meters) and eighth in the hammer throw (43.91 meters), while
Misael Martinez Vasquez (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Hope Academy) took fifth in the hammer throw (46.09 meters) to go with a ninth-place finish in the shot put (13.03 meters).
Wilson Goodpaster (Hamilton, Mich./Hamilton) finished seventh in the pole vault with a top height of 3.65 meters, with
Zander Hartsuff (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) finishing just outside the top eight with a top height of 3.2 meters.
The 10,000 meters was the lone race to crown a champion on the day, but there were a number of races that held the preliminary rounds leading up tomorrow's finals.
Koby VanderWoude (Caledonia, Mich./Caledonia) qualified second in th 400 meters with a time of 49.72, while
Morrison Ismond (Ada, Mich./Lowell) also qualified in that race with a time of 51.07.
Lucas VanderPloeg (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) qualified fifth in the 800 meters with a time of 1:56.76.
Connor Lubberts (Jenison, Mich./Jenison) qaulified seventh in the 200 meters in a time of 23.00.
COACH'S COMMENT: "
William Hofmann got his championship in the 10k in what was really his first year racing it, which was awesome," Calvin head track and field coach Adam Haldorson said. "The field events we had some ups nd some downs where we kind of came out level. Some guys maybe over-performed a bit, and others might walk away a little disappointed. On the track side, we're feeling good about tomorrow based on the people we were able to advance today. We're in a good position to go and do what we were hoping to do this weekend. Now we just need to take care of business."
NEXT UP: Calvin men's track and field will return to Olivet College tomorrow (Friday, May 5) for the second and final day of the MIAA Track & Field Championships.
