As the Calvin track and field team looks toward the indoor championships on March 1, they look back on a season defined by growth, team unity and record-breaking performances. The Knights have navigated a year of significant expansion, welcoming a large incoming class and fostering a strong team culture across various event groups.
Both the women’s and men’s track and field teams have broken school records this season. Junior Koby VanderWoude and graduate student Sydney Radigan both broke the university records they had previously set for the 200m dash this season. VanderWoude, who broke the men’s record, finished with a time of 22.36 while Radigan — who broke the women’s record — finished with a 25.22. VanderWoude’s time ranks fourth in all of the MIAA this season for the 200. The team hopes to build on this success at the indoor championships.
For all the underclassmen on the team, watching all these records being broken is both exciting and inspiring. Assistant Coach Micah Reyes said how the freshmen “have a lot of eagerness to want to run and compete and to see a lot of these records broken. I think it gives them a lot of open excitement to hopefully see their name on a record board in the future.”
Reyes spoke about his mission of leadership development on the team. Reyes ran track at Calvin before graduating in 2024 and is currently in his first year coaching here at Calvin. “We aim to build a group of leaders,” said Reyes. Reyes explained that this is part of an effort on the part of the track and field coaches to “cultivate the culture that we wanted to set.”
“When you have a big group of people at the beginning of the year coming from different parts of the world, different cultures and backgrounds, it’s one thing to set a culture for the team culture but then also raise it up,” said Reyes.
The emphasis on team identity has been significant this year as the program has experienced their biggest recruiting class in recent memory. Reyes mentioned that “this incoming class is huge.” In previous years, according to Reyes, most classes have had around 20 new recruits; this year, the team had over 60. “We jumped from [a] roster size of 100 to [around] 160,” said Reyes.
Track and field teams benefit from having more members because it’s a big sport with lots of events, ranging from distance races to sprints to the high jump to the steeplechase.
Despite the team’s large size, athletes have found community within their teams. Athletes seem to have an overwhelmingly positive impression of the community on a team that has as many moving parts as track and field. Freshman Jack DeKruyter talked about the distance runners’ “extraordinary” team dynamic, stating how his “teammates care about you as an individual, not just based on performance [which helps] develop athletes into their best selves.”
VanderWoude echoed this sentiment, talking about what a blessing it was to have such a close team. “We have groups — we meet with the same group throughout the entire year — with all different events spread out across the groups,” said VanderWoude. “We have conversations together, text one another, pray at the end of meetings — just something that allows us to connect.”
Looking toward the indoor conference championships coming up on March 1, All-American distance runner Sophie Bull reflected on the importance of teamwork, even in a sport with an individual aspect like track and field. “We really do try to be very intentional about being unified as one team, despite all the different event groups, especially going into a meet like conference, where we’re trying to win as a team as a whole,” said Bull.
As for team goals for the meet, both the men’s and women’s teams have the common goal of beating rival Hope College. “Hope has been a pretty dominant force the last couple years, and I think we’re trying to reach them this year,” said Bull.
The team is riding a wave of momentum, and the GVSU meet provided a confidence boost. VanderWoude noted, “We had a ton of PRs and season bests at that meet, and seeing those results on the board makes you realize all your training is paying off.”
