RESULTS

BIRMINGHAM, AL. – Calvin crowned its first NCAA III Indoor 1^st Team All-American since 2017 on Saturday as sophomore Abe VanDuinen took eighth place in the 800 meters with a time of 1:51.62. The time by VanDuinen (Pentwater, Mich./Pentwater HS) was a new school record, breaking his own previous record time of 1:52.89 set the previous week. He is the first Calvin NCAA III Indoor All-American in the men's 800 meters and the first to do so on the Calvin men's side since Todd Schuster achieved the feat at the 2007 NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

VanDuinen was forced to navigate choppy waters throughout the weekend as he advanced out of the prelims on time. All three of Friday's prelims were filled with collisions between runners jostling for positions, leading to disqualifications, appeals and later reinstatements to the championship finals. VanDuinen stayed clear of the fray with his Friday prelim but was thrown into a Saturday final that was originally set for eight competitors but ultimately included nine runners due to successful race appeals from the prelims.

Saturday's championship final was hotly contested with VanDuinen staying near the back of the pack before making a strong push to the finish. He crossed the line with four competitors, finishing just two tenths of a second out of fifth place but also nearly a full second ahead of the ninth place finisher.

VanDuinen's finish earned the Knights a point and allowed Calvin to finish 56^th in the final NCAA III team standings.

Junior Zach Van Baren (Hudsonville, Mich./Covenant Christian HS) also concluded competition in the two-day heptathlon competition on Saturday, finishing 19^th with a final score of 4,117 points. Van Baren entered Saturday in 12^th place out of 20 competitors. He had a solid showing in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.62 (832 points) but then suffered a setback in the pole vault as he was unable to clear a height in the event. He rallied to post a time of 3:15.34 in the 1,000 meter run to earn 522 points for his final point total.

COACHES COMMENT: "First off, I am extremely proud of Abe and Zach for competing as well as they did at their first national meet," said Calvin head track and field coach Adam Haldorson. "Abe has had an incredible last few weeks of indoor track and field, winning the 800 at our league meet, qualifying for nationals the following week and then becoming an All-American today. He ran smartly and with purpose this weekend and it really paid off in a big way. I know his teammates are very excited to see him reach this accomplishment as is the coaching staff. For Zach, this meet was a big step forward in his growth as a track and field athlete. It's difficult to get to nationals in the heptathlon as it means putting in a big performance in the regular season to qualify and then having to come back and do it again under much brighter lights. There are always ups and downs in a two-day multi-event like this and that was certainly true this weekend for Zach but he competed hard. Learned a lot and will only get better moving forward. He has a bright future ahead."