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).

Hope Finishes Second at MIAA Jamboree (9/27/08)
MIAA Cross Country Jamboree Results
Both Hope cross country teams finished a strong second at the MIAA cross country jamboree held Friday at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Ind. Nationally ranked Calvin won both meets.
Men: Calvin scored a perfect 15 points followed by Hope with 60, Adrian 102, Albion 114, Trine 136, Alma 138, Kalamazoo 219, and Olivet 247. The meet winner was Jed Christiansen of Calvin in 26:08. Hope's top five finishers were within 24 seconds of one another led by senior Seth Weener in 10th place overall at 27:12. Other Hope finishers were junior Rob Bailey, 11th (27:16); senior Zach King, 12th (27:26); senior Paul Vandervelde, 13th (27:33) and sophomore Kevin Hagan, 14th (27:36).
Women: Calvin led the nine-team field with 20 points followed by Hope 64, Kalamazoo 114, Adrian 117, Saint Mary's 126, Albion 157, Alma 166, Trine 245, and Olivet 275. The meet winner was Allison Iott of Kalamazoo in 18:35. Hope's top five runners finished with a minute of one another led by freshman Kate Nelson in ninth place (19:37). Other Hope finishers were sophomore Emily Fischer, 10th (19:44); freshman Kelly Lufkin, 11th (19:47); freshnman Karli Sikma, 16th (20:14); and senior Kate Freshour, 18th (20:29).

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 men's team also won the championship. It marks the seventh time since the joint men's/women's invitational started in 1980 that both Hope teams are champions. The Flying Dutch took advantage of running as pack as the top five runners were within 20 seconds of each other.

Andi Ruth Owens of Cornerstone won the race (19:24) while the next five runners were all from Hope. The Flying Dutch were led by sophomore Emily Fischer of Naperville, Ill. (19:39), followed by #3 Karli Sikma (19:50), #4 Joanne Gabl (19:51), #5 Kate Nelson (19:53); and #6 Kelly Lufkin (19:59).

A blend of returning letterwinners and athletes new to the Hope cross country program should put the Flying Dutch in the thick of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) race this fall.

The 2007 Flying Dutch 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 Dutch have always finished no lower than in third place in the MIAA standings.

The pre-season roster of 28 athletes includes 15 returning letterwinners. There are seven freshmen, 12 sophomores, four juniors and five seniors.

The co-captains will be seniors Sarah Multer of Plainwell, Mich. (Plainwell HS) and Rebekah Woods of Lowell, Mich. (Lowell HS).

Sophomore Susan Savasky of Berkley (Marion HS) achieved All-MIAA second team honors last fall while senior Kate Freshour of Bloomington, Ill. (Olympia HS) was an All-MIAA second team honoree in 2006. Freshour also received All-MIAA recognition in track & field last spring.

Other returning letterwinners include sophomore Claire Bird of New Paltz, N.Y. (New Paltz HS), sophomores Kate Brundige of Vicksburg, Mich. (Vicksburg HS), sophomore Kelsey Engle of Park Ridge, Ill. (Maine South HS), sophomore Emily Fischer of Naperville, Ill. (Naperville Central HS), sophomore Joanne Gabl of Saline, Mich. (Saline HS), junior Sara Gosses of Amherst, Ohio (Amherst Steele HS), senior Holly Grieving of Grandville, Mich. (Grandville HS), junior Emma Lucas of Cadillac, Mich. (Cadillac HS), sophomore Andrea Miller of Algonquin, Ill. (Dundee Crown HS), sophomore Elle Munoa of Holland, Mich. (West Ottawa HS), and junior Faith Whitehouse of Manton (Manton HS).

The Flying Dutch also excelled in the classroom in 2007-08 receiving Team Academic All-America honors from the College Cross Country Coaches Association for the 18th consecutive year. Ten returning Flying Dutch were named to the 2007-08 MIAA Academic Honor Roll – Kate Brundige, Joanne Gabl, Sara Gosses, Emma Lucas, Andrea Miller, Sarah Multer, Molly Nyboer, Sara Tyler, Faith Whitehouse and Rebekah Woods.

The Flying Dutch 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.