Junior Nora Kuiper was a double winner in the dashes. She set an MIAA record while repeating as champion of the 100-meter dash (:12.13) and also won the 200-meter dash (:25.62).

Other Hope athletes who successfully defended their league titles were senior Andrew Denniger in the javelin (176-8) and junior Sean Bergsma in the high jump (6-6).

Other Hope champions in the men's meet included junior Brandon Bosch, long jump (22-9 1/4); senior Chad Rector, shotput (48-8); sophomore Jeffrey Minkus, triple jump (42-11 1/2); senior Seth Weener, 1,500 meters (4:01.50); and freshman Nick Rinck, 400-meter hurdles (:55.95).

The Flying Dutch 4x100 relay on Nora Kuiper, freshman Kara VandeGuchte, freshman Emily Kreichelt, and senior Lindsay Lange won the gold medal in :48.71. Other Hope champions in women's meet were junior Christina Lisa in the high jump (5-5), junior Emily Vandermeer in the pole vault (10-11 1/2) and senior Lindsay Lange in the shotput (40-0 1/2).

Gina Relays Prep Tracksters for MIAA Field Day
Gina Relay Results
Hope's tracksters competed in the Gina Relays hosted by Hillsdale College for their final preparations for the upcoming MIAA Field Day to be held Thursday and Friday at Alma College.

Hope Athletes Compete at Multiple Venues (4/19/08)
EMU Results / Northwood Results
Hope athletes competed at track and field invitationals hosted by two Michigan universities on Saturday, Northwood in Midland and Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti. Hope's entries had several outstanding performances, including a school record in the women's 4x100 relay.

Northwood Open: The women's 4x100 relay of junior Nora Kuiper, freshman Kara VandeGuchte, freshman Emily Kreichelt and senior Lindsay Lange established a school record of :48.47, eclipsing the previous mark of :49.03. It was a provisional qualifying time for nationals. Lindsay Lange also had a provisional qualifying time in winning the 100-meter hurdles (:14.92). Nora Kuiper was the meet champion in the 100-meter dash (:12.56). Season-best performances included Emily Kreichelt, 200 meters (:26.47); Susan Savasky, 1,500 meters (11:35.26); Sara DeWeerdt, long jump (15-2) and Lindsay Lange, shotput (39-4); and Hunter Nostrant, pole vault (13-5 1/4).

Eastern Michigan Invitational: Freshman John Donkersloot won the high jump with the second best height in Hope history (6-10 3/4). The school record is 7-0 by Rob Appell in 1985. Sophomore Jeff Minkus bettered his own school record in the triple jump (46-4 1/4). Season-best performances were recorded by: Christina Lis, high jump (5-7); Nick Zendler, 800 meters (1:56.62); Seth Weener, 1,500 meters (3:56.30) and Matt Wiersum, 5,000 meters (15:44.41).

Hope Teams Second at MIAA Jamboree
Complete Men's Results
Complete Women's Results
Both Hope track and field teams finished second at the first-ever MIAA True Team Jamboree on Saturday hosted by Alma College. Every competitor (three per team) scored points based on the order of finish. The Jamboree replaced league dual meets this spring and will count toward half of the seasonal standings. Calvin led the field in both the men's and women's meet.

Men's Jamboree: Calvin led the seven-team field with 924 points followed by Hope 871.5, Albion 601.5, Alma 472.5, Tri-State 420.5, Adrian 418.5 and Olivet 327.5. Hope event winners included John Donkersloot, high jump (6-4 3/4); Brandon Bosch, long jump (22-1 3/4); Jeff Minkus, triple jump (44-1 1/4); and Cameron Lampkin, 200 meters (:22.57).

Women's Jamboree: Calvin edged the Flying Dutch for the women's title, 994.5-918, followed by Albion 701.5, Alma 578.5, Olivet 291.5, Adrian 290, and 6. Tri-State 99. Hope event winners included Christina Lis, high jump (5-5); Emily VanderMeer, pole vault (10-0); Lindsay Lange, shotput (38-11 3/4) and 200 meters (:26.58); and Nora Kuiper, 100 meters (:12.64). The Flying Dutch also won the 4x100 meter relay (:49.23) with a team of Nora Kuiper, Kara Vandeguchte, Emil Kreichelt and Lindsay Lange.

Hope Tracksters Compete at Ferris Invitational (4/5/08)
Results
Hope tracksters competed in the Ferris State Invitational on Saturday. It was a non-scoring meet.
Women's Results: Recording season-best performances were: Nora Kuiper, 100 meters (:12.58); Sara Tyler, 3,000 meters (11:48.17); Emily Fischer, 3,000-meter steeplechase (12:33.38); Sara DeWeerdt, long jump (15-0 3/4); Courtney Knox, shotput (38-0).
Men's Results: First place performances were posted by Jeff Minkus in the triple jump (45-2 1/4) and Andrew Denniger in the javelin (181-5). Recording season-best performances were: Erik George, 100 meters (:10.81); Nicholas Rinck, 110-meter hurdles (:15.90) and 400-meter hurdles (:57.53); and the 4x100 meter relay (:43.49).

Hope Athletes Compete at Grand Rapids Open (3/29/08)
Results
The Flying Dutchmen competed in the non-scoring Grand Rapids Open at Houseman Field and came away with several outstanding performances.

Two school records were established, senior Chad Rector in the hammer throw (169-3") and sophomore Jeff Minkus in the triple jump (46-03.50). Both were provisional qualifying performances for nationals. Freshman John Donkersloot also provisonally qualified for nationals in the high jump (6-9).

Gaining first place finishes were: John Donkersloot, high jump (6-9); Aaron Treiber, long jump (21-10 1/2); Jeff Minkus, triple jump (46-3 1/2) and Andrew Denninger, javelin (186-9).

Hope Teams Compete at Emory Invitational (3/22/08)
Results
The Flying Dutchmen concluded their annual spring break training by competing at the Emory University Invitational in Atlanta, Ga. with a fourth place finish in the 21-team men's field.

Hope had two champions -- sophomore Jeff Minkus in the triple jump (45-5) and Chad Rector in the hammer throw (161-5). Scoring points were: Nick Zendler,, 2nd in 1,500-meters (4:01.43); Aaron Clark, 5th in 400-meters (:50.54); Rob Bailey, 3rd in 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:49.58); Sean Bergsma and John Donkersloot, 4th (6-7) and 5th (6-5) respectively in the high jump; James Colten, 7th in pole vault (12-7 1/4); Aaron Treiber and Joe Seymour, 3rd (21-3 1/2) and 4th (20-11 1/4) respectively in the long jump; Andrew Denninger, 2nd in javelin (191-6); Matt Clark, 6th in javelin (157-5). Bergsma's high jump and Denninger's javelin throw were NCAA provisional qualifying performances.

Tracksters Excel at First Outdoor Competition (3/15/08)
Results
Hope opened the outdoor portion of its track and field season with some outstanding performances including the breaking of a decades-long school record at the Coastal Carolina Invitational on Saturday. Three tracksters had provisional qualifying performances for the NCAA Division III championship to be held in May -0- senior Andrew Denniger of Winfield, Ill. (West Chicago HS) in the javelin (191 feet, 11 inches), junior Christina Lis of Novi (Novi HS) in the high jump (5 feet, 5 inches) and sophomore Jeff Minkus of Glen Ellyn, Ill. (Glenbard West HS) in the triple jump with a school record jump of 46 feet, 3/4 inch. The old mark had stood for 20 years, set in 1988 by Scott Schaaf (45'4 1/2").

Hope Athletes Compete at Chicago Invitational (2/23/08)
Results
Hope tracksters competed in the Margaret Bradley Indoor Invitational hosted by the University of Chicago on Saturday. The Flying Dutchmen finished second in the 10-team field. The host UC Maroons won the meet.

The Flying Dutchmen had three event winners. Erik George won the 55-meter dash (:06.63) and Aaron Clark led the pack in the 400-meter dash (:51.45) Sean Bergsma and John Donkersloot finished one-two in the high jump at 1.97m and 1.90m respectively.

Other top six finishes included: Zach King, 2nd in 3,000 meters (8:54.48) and 6th in mile run (4:25.18); Jeff Minkus, 2nd in triple jump (13.58m); Cameron Lampkin, 3rd in 55-meter dash (:06.66); Nick Rinck, 3rd in 55-meter hurdles (08.25); Seth Weener, 4th in mile run (4:22.25) and 5th in 3,000 meters (9:12.04); Chad Rector, 3rd in shotput (14.66m); Frank Previch, 6th in 400-meter dash (:53.17); Nick Zendler, 6th in 800-meter run (2:01.75) and 4th in mile run (4:25.18); and Ryan Jara, 6th in 5,000 meters (16:12.21); Hope also won the 4x400 meter relay (3:33.64).

Flying Dutchmen Compete at Grand Valley (2/15/08)
Results
Members of the Hope track and field teams continued their preparations for the 2008 season by competing in the GVSU Indoor Open hosted by Grand Valley State University.

Flying Dutchmen Launch Season at Invitational (2/2/08)
Invitational Results
The Flying Dutchmen opened their season Saturday by finishing fifth in the 19-team Tadd Metzger Indoor Invitational hosted by Carthage College. The top eight finishers scored meet points.

Highlights: Sean Bergsma, 2nd in high jump (6-5 1/2); Ryan Jara, 3rd in 5,000 meters (16:25.77); Aaron Clark, 4th in 400 meters (:51.76); Jeff Minkus, 4th in triple jump (44-3 1/4); Daniel Sultz, 5th in 5,000 meters (16:51.82); Zach King, 7th in 3,000 meters (8:54.48) and 8th in mile (4:34.02); Nick Rincki, 8th in 55 meter hurdles (:08.39); and Nate VanderGuchte, 8th in high jump (5-11 1/2).

The Flying Dutchmen return 25 letterwinners from a 2007 team that finished second in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and were 42nd at the NCAA Division III championship.

A season highlight was defeating rival Calvin in a conference dual meet (99-92) for the first time since 1985.

Coach Kevin Cole begins his third season at the helm of the track and field program with a roster that includes 16 freshmen, 17 sophomores, eight juniors and 10 seniors.

Two returning athletes received All-MIAA honors in 2007 -- junior Sean Bergsma of Grand Haven, Mich. (Grand Haven HS) and senior Andrew Denninger of Winfield, Ill. (West Chicago, Ill.). Bergsma was the league high jump champion while Denninger won the league gold in the discus. Senior sprinter Erik George of Livonia, Mich. (Livonia HS) received All-MIAA distinction in 2005.

Co-captains of the team include senior Aaron Clark of Holland, Mich. (Holland HS), Andrew Denninger, senior Nate VandeGuchte of Hamilton, Mich. (Hamilton HS), and senior Seth Weener of Grandville, Mich. (Grandville HS).

Athletes who return who had season-best performances in 2007 include: Erik George, 100 meters (:10.87) and 200 meters (:22.85); Aaron Clark, 400 meters (:49.23); Seth Weener, 5,000 meters (15:15.71); Nate VandeGuchte, 110 meter hurdles (:15.96) and 400 meter hurdles (:57.87); junior Robert Bailey of Ogden Dunes, Ind. (Portage HS), 3000 meter steeplechase (9:26.44); Sean Bergsma, high jump (6-6 1/4); senior Joseph Seymour of Holland, Mich. (Holland HS), long jump (20-4 1/4); sophomore Jeff Minkus of Glen Ellyn, Ill. (Glenbard West HS), triple jump (44-4); senior Chad Rector of Grant, Mich. (Grant HS), shotput (47-8), discus (130-7), and hammer (163-7); and Andrew Denniger, javelin (190-3).

Seniors who have lettered three seasons include Andrew Denninger, Erik George, Chad Rector, Joseph Seymour and Seth Weener.

A major change in scheduling has been initiated by the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association for the 2008 season. There will no longer be dual meets between league teams. Instead, there will be a single jamboree at mid-season and the traditional season-ending Field Day to be hosted by Alma College.

Flying Dutchmen Finish Second in MIAA Standings
The Flying Dutchmen crowned four league champions en route to finishing second in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) standings. Coach Kevin Cole's Dutchmen posted a 5-1 dual meet record, including a triumph over rival Calvin.

Senior Ryan TerLouw of Pella, Iowa became the first Hope male athlete to achieve NCAA All-America honors three straight years in an event by placing fourth in the 1,500-meter run. He finished 7th as a sophomore and 5th as a junior. Named the MIAA's most valuable runner, TerLouw had a "dream" season of sorts. He was invited to compete in the Dream Mile at the Hillsdale Relays with an opportunity to challenge Hope's mile record which stood nearly 40 years. Track events are now measured in meters. Rick Bruggers set the mark of 4:12.2. Competing against several NCAA Division I and Olympic-caliber athletes, TerLouw was timed in 4:05.31. He graduated holding Hope records in nearly every distance event.

Hope's MIAA champions included senior Andrew Denninger of Winfield, Ill., javelin (190-3), senior Scott Langille of Glen Ellyn, Ill. pole vault (15-1); sophomore Sean Bergsma of Grand Haven, Mich., high jump (6-6 1/4); and senior Ryan TerLouw of Pella, Iowa, 1,500-meters (3:51.54). Langille and TerLouw were defending champions.