Cross Country Team Compete in Pre-National (10/4/08)
Men's Results / Women's Results
Hope's cross country teams had a chance to compete where the NCAA championships will be held next month by running at the Hanover, Ind. Invitational on Saturday. The Flying Dutchmen finished fourth in the 20-team men's 8K while the Flying Dutch were sixth in the 16-team women's 6K.

Alleghany, Pa. won the men's race with 62 points while Hope's total was 161. Hope's first finisher was senior Seth Weener in 19th among 230 runners at 26:13. Other Hope finishers were Rob Bailey, 23rd (26:17), Matt Wiersum, 33rd (26:35), Paul Vandervelde, 36th (26:38), and Zach King, 50th (26:55).

MIT won the women's race with 70 points while Hope's total was 176. Hope's first finisher was Freshman Karli Sikma in 31st place among 172 runners (24:02). Other Hope finishers were Kate Nelson, 38th (24:14), Emily Fischer, 39th (24:17), Kelly Lufkin, 41st (24:20); and Kate Freshour, 47th (24:31).

Harriers Excel at Great Lakes Meet (9/13/08)
Results
Hope's cross country teams excelled at the Great Lakes Colleges Association Invitational held Saturday in Overlin, Ohio. The Flying Dutchmen won the eight-team men's meet while the Flying Dutch were second in the seven-team women's field.

The Flying Dutchmen edged Denison by two points, 57-59, with three runners finishing in the top ten. Senior Seth Weener finished third while teammates Rob Bailey and Matt Wiersum were fourth and 10th respectively Rounding out the Hope finishers were Paul VandeVelde in 17th and Zach King 23rd.

Four of Hope five runners in the women's meet were freshmen. Host Oberlin won the meet with 35 points while Hope ended with 54. Sophomore Emily Fischer led the Dutch in seventh place. Other Hope finishers were freshman Kelly Luftjin, 8th; freshman Kate Nelson, 9th' freshman Karlyn Skima, 11th; and freshman Salome Emmanual, 19th.

Vanderbilt Invitational Launches Season (8/30/08)
Vanderbilt History / 2008 Invitational Results
The Flying Dutch celebrated the start of the season by winning their own Vanderbilt Invitational championship. The Hope women's team also took first place. It marks the seventh time since the joint men's/women's invitational started in 1980 that both Hope teams are champions. The Flying Dutchmen took advantage of running as pack as the top five runners were within 55 seconds of each other.

The Flying Dutchmen totaled 24 points followed by Cornerstone 46, Albion 60 and Concordia-Ann Arbor 119. Hope junior Matt Wiersum of Minnetonka, Minn. topped the men's field in 26:27 while teammate Rob Bailey followed in second place at 26:38. Rounding out Hope's top five were #5 Seth Weener (26:46), #6 Paul VanderVelde (26:51), and #10 Zach King (27:22).

A solid core of experienced returning upperclassmen will be key to the success of the Hope College men’s cross country team in 2008.

The 2007 Flying Dutchmen finished third in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA).

Mark Northuis begins his third decade as coach of the Hope cross country program. In 20 seasons under Coach Northuis, the Flying Dutchmen have finished third or higher every year in the conference standings.

This year’s squad returns four runners who achieved all-conference honors a year ago. Rob Bailey from Portage, Ind. (Portage HS) was a first-team honoree while Zach King from Portage, Mich. (Portage Northern HS); Paul VanderVelde from Lawrence, Kan. (Free State HS); and Matt Wiersum, from Minnetonka, Minn. (Minnetonka HS) were named to the second team. Bailey, King and VanderVelde are seniors while Wiersum is a junior.

Bailey finished seventh at the conference championship meet and was the only runner not from Calvin to receive All-MIAA first team recognition.

The team also returns Seth Weener of Grandville, Mich. (Grandville HS) as a fifth-year senior. He was an All-MIAA cross country honoree in 2006. Last spring he was the MIAA track & field champion in the 1,500-meter run.

The pre-season roster of 29 athletes includes 18 returning letterwinners. There are eight freshmen, six sophomores, six juniors and nine seniors.

Bailey and VanderVelde will be co-captains. Other returning letterwinners include junior Eric Anderson of Ann Arbor, Mich. (Pioneer HS), sophomore Carl Dunker of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (Seaholm HS), sophomore Kevin Hagan of Okemos, Mich. (Okemos HS), junior Ryan Jara of Commerce Township (Walled Lake North HS), junior Collin Kooy of Metamora, Mich. (Flint Powers HS), and sophomore Brett May of Rockford, Mich. (Rockford HS).

Also, senior James Ralston of Holly, Mich. (Fenton HS), senior Kent Reschke of Naperville, Ill. (Naperville Central HS), sophomore Jordan Richardson of Reading, Mich. (Reading HS), senior Joseph Seymour of Holland, Mich. (Holland HS), senior Daniel Sultz of Benzie, Mich. (Benzie Central HS), junior Ryan Summers of Naperville, Ill. (Naperville Central HS), junior Lucas Wolthuis of Vicksburg, Mich. (Vicksburg HS).

The Flying Dutchmen also excelled in the classroom in 2007-08 receiving Team Academic All-America honors from the College Cross Country Coaches Association for the 17th time over 18 years. Four returning cross country athletes were named to the 2007-08 MIAA Academic Honor Roll – Rob Bailey, Luke Eastburg, James Ralston, David Todd.

The Flying Dutchmen will open the season on Saturday, Aug. 30 by hosting the Bill Vanderbilt Invitational. It will be the team’s only home meet. The regular season schedule will culminate with the MIAA championships hosted by Kalamazoo College on Saturday, Nov. 1. The NCAA Regional will be run in Westerville, Ohio on Nov. 15 and a week later the nationals will be held in Hanover, Ind.