Sophomore John Donkersloot an NCAA All-American
Sophomore John Donkersloot of Zeeland, Mich. (Zeeland East HS) won the bronze medal in the high jump at the NCAA Division III championships. His performance accounted for the six points Hope scored at the national meet. Donkersloot was one of five jumpers to go out at 6 feet, 10 1/4 inches, but gained third place on the basis of fewest misses in the competition. He cleared six feet, nine inches.

Donkersloot was competing at the national meet for the second year in-a-row. He was ninth as a freshman. He becomes Hope's third All-American high jumper, the first in nearly a quarter-of-a-century. Rob Appell was the national champion in 1985 clearing seven feet, a mark that remains the alltime Hope record. Jim Wildgen was an All-American high jumper twice, finishing sixth in 1974 (6-5) and fourth in 1976 (6-6).

Also competing at nationals was senior Rob Bailey of Ogden Dunes, Ind. (Portage, Ind. HS) who finished 16th (9:51.86) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

2009 TEAM HONORS & 2010 CAPTAINS
Most Valuable Trackster - Nick Rinck, sophomore from Hudsonville, Mich. (Hudsonville HS)
Most Valuable Field Performer - Aaron Treiber, junior from Auburn, Mich. (Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS)
2010 Captains - Bryan Dekoekkoek, junior from Martin, Mich. (Kalamazoo Christian HS); Jeff Minkus, junior from Glen Ellyn, Ill. (Glenbard West HS); Preston Pierson, junior from Traverse City, Mich. (Traverse City Central HS); Matt Wiersum, junior from Minnetonka, Minn. (Minnetonka HS).

Four Hope Athletes Honored by MIAA
All-conference track & field honors were awarded to four Hope athletes -- junior Jeffrey Minkus of Glen Ellyn, Ill. (Glenbard West HS); sophomore Nick Rinck of Hudsonville, Mich. (Hudsonville HS); junior Aaron Treiber of Auburn, Mich. (Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS); and freshman Kyle VanderVeen of Alto, Mich. (Caledonia HS).

Flying Dutchmen Second at MIAA Field Day
Field Day Results
The Flying Dutchmen finished second at the 117th annual Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Field Day, scoring 183.5 points.

Hope crowned five gold medal winners, including two defending champions -- Triple Jump: Jeffrey Minkus, junior from Glen Elyn, Ill. (Glenbard West HS), 45' 11 3/4" and 400 Meter Hurdles: Nick Rinck, sophomore from Hudsonville, Mich. (Hudsonville HS), :54.00.

Other individual champions included: 100 Meter Dash: Kyle VanderVeen, freshman from Alto, Mich. (Caledonia HS), :10.89; and Long Jump: Aaron Treiber, junior from Auburn, Mich. (Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS), 21' 6 1/4".

The Flying Dutchmen concluded the meet by winning the 4x400 Relay for the first time since 1986: The quartet of Frank Previch, junior from Adrian, Mich. [Onsted HS], Alex Hull, freshman from Okemos, Mich. [Okemos HS], Preston Pierson, junior from Wilmington, Ohio [Wilmington HS]; and Nick Rinck, sophomore from Hudsonville, Mich. [Hudsonville HS]) was timed in 3:20.28.