By Jamie Olthoff

Staff Writer

After a pair of dominant first-place finishes at the Great Lakes Regional meet two weeks ago, the Calvin community held its breath in anticipation as the men's and women's cross country teams traveled to Illinois for the 2001 NCAA III National Championships last weekend. The Calvin men stepped up their performance that day and finished second out of 24 teams, while the women finished in a respectable sixth place.

Taking the lead role one last time for the men was senior Justin Pfruender, who placed sixth overall and earned his third consecutive All-American title with a time of 24 minutes, 25 seconds. Finishing second for the Knights was freshman Brian Maat (24:35). The top freshman finisher of the meet, Maat took 12th place overall and became the first freshman in Calvin's history to win All-American honors. Seniors Dan Hoekstra (24:44) and Joel Klooster (24:48) finished 21st and 24th, respectively, both earning All-American accolades for the second year in a row. Also finishing for Calvin were senior David Ritsema, who took 121st in 26:01; sophomore Tim Avery, who placed 143rd in 26:15; and sophomore Joel Reasoner, who took 181st in 26:46.

A somewhat rocky start to the season left many people wondering what to expect from the defending national champions. Plagued by injuries and illness throughout the season, the Knights turned in an impressive performance at the National meet to bring home a second place trophy. Their 141 point score marked the fourth consecutive top-four national finish for the Knights.