The men’s and women’s cross-country teams qualified for the National Collegiate Athletics Association Division III Cross Country National Championships after strong races at the regional meet.
On Saturday, Nov. 16, the Knights traveled down to Shelbyville, Indiana to race at the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Great Lakes Region Cross-Country Championships.
The men’s team claimed the regional title with a score of 99 over second place John Carroll University with a score of 114. The women’s team qualified for nationals with a second-place finish after a tough race falling to Depauw University 91-94. The win marks the men’s team’s first regional title since 2019.
The men’s team was led by senior Luke Witvliet’s second place finish with a time of 24:48.0. Junior Thaine Nederveld, and fifth-years Eric Swinson and Caleb Gaffner also earned all-region honors by finishing 15th, 18th and 26th overall. Also racing for the Knights were freshman Vaughn Meyer, fifth year Jacob Buit and senior Trent Sivils.
“Vaughn [Meyer] and [Jacob] Buit really worked well together and pushed each other through the race,” junior Gavin Anderson told Chimes.
The women’s team was led by junior Sophie Bull’s third place finish with a time of 21:42.8. Senior Natalie Tebben, sophomore Hailey Erickson, freshman Ellia Agar and fifth-year Jenna Allman round out the scoring top five runners and earned all-region honors as well. Freshman Alexis Ball and junior Alaina Smith rounded out the seven runners for the Knights.
The win marks head coach Nicole Kramer’s first men’s regional title at Calvin after winning regionals last season on the women’s side. The win was a special moment for the graduating seniors to claim their first regional crown. “Winning it was hype, it felt so surreal,” said senior Andrew Huyser.
The team’s top runners left for Terre Haute, Indiana Thursday Nov. 21 morning to prepare for the race on Saturday Nov. 23.
While only the top runners stay in a hotel for the days leading up to the event, other runners on the team still travel on their own to support their teammates.Upperclassmen on the team like junior Aaron Jahn, have been organizing rides and houses to stay at for spectating athletes to be able to support their teammates. A few of the runners from Indianna host athletes to make the drive a lot more manageable.
“It’s really just upperclassmen, including me. Sofie Schumerth has been putting in a lot of work, I’ve done some work, Nick [Henz] has done a bit,” Jahn told Chimes. “It’s been a team effort of upperclassmen making sure rides are all planned and we have all the stuff we need and housing.”
