GRAND RAPIDS — When Brandon Wolliston crossed the finish line of the 400-meter dash, he took a moment to catch his breath. When he looked up at the scoreboard at his time, a smile crept across his face.
The Hope College junior from Remus, Michigan (Chippewa Hills HS) finished second with a school-record time of 49.45 seconds on Saturday at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Indoor Track & Field Championship at Calvin College.
"I was really happy with my finish," Wolliston said. "I was able to come back and finish strong. Calvin and Trine went out super strong. and I wasn't expecting that. I had to play catch-up."
Wolliston also ran a leg in the MIAA- and school-record distance medley relay. He teamed with senior Cameron Jones of Holland, Michigan (Black River), junior Peter Timperman of Lafayette, Indiana (Faith Christian) and junior Benjamin Pederson of Mount Prospect, Illinois (Mount Prospect) for a winning performance of 10:28.24.
Senior Julian Morrison of Aurora, Illinois (Waubonsie Valley) also ran away with the school record in the 5,000 meters. He clocked a time of 14 minutes, 56.5 seconds and finished third.
"I'm as satisfied as I can be," Morrison said. "But athletes are truly never satisfied with how they do. This was a lifetime PR. The best 5K I've ever run and the first time I've been under 15 minutes. I was happy to do it with some great competitors. I know a lot of the guys from Calvin, and it was great to run with them."
The Flying Dutchmen edged Albion by a half-point for fourth place on Saturday after totaling 67 points. Calvin was the champion with 195 points.
"I thought they competed very well," Hope coach Kevin Cole said. "Last year we were fifth at the indoors, so we moved up a place from that."
Wolliston said finishing second was even more rewarding since his body is not at 100 percent.
"I'm really happy with it because I have really bad knees and these turns are awful for me. But Ethan Valentine really pushed me hard on this one. I love running against him. He's a great guy."
Calvin's Ethan Valentine set the MIAA indoor record with 48.13.
"Wolliston had an awesome day today. He's really been coming along," Cole said.
Sophomore Justin Freeman of Holland, Michigan (West Ottawa) posted a third-place finish in the 60 meter dash at 7.10 seconds.
"I think I did alright," he said. "My hamstring is pretty banged up. That's my best time of the season, but I think I could have had a better finish."
The Flying Dutchmen dominant in the shot put, placing three in the top four. Sophomore Chase Gaca of Kingsley, Michigan (Kingsley) finished second with a throw of 12.08 meters (39 feet, 7 inches). He was followed by freshman Jacob Babb of Caledonia, Michigan (Caledonia) in third at 12.07 meters (39-6) and freshman Timothy Ivery of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (Brother Rice) in fourth at 11.84 meters (38-9).
The throwers also had three top eight finishers in the weight throw. Sophomore Tyler Webb of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Grandville) was fifth in 11.94 meters (39-2). He was joined by Gaca in seventh at 11.22 meters (36-8) and freshman Matthew VanHeest of Grand Haven, Michigan (Grand Haven) in eighth at 10.60 meters (34-8).
Hope also placed in the triple jump with junior William Henkel of Lambertville, Michigan (Erie-Mason) in third at 11.93 meters (39-2) and the long jump with freshman Jager Haan of McBain, Michigan (Northern Michigan Christian) in sixth at 5.39 meters (17-7).
— Lenny Padilla
