by Alan Babbitt
It was a welcomed return to competition for the Hope College women's and men's indoor track and field team on Saturday.
The Flying Dutch and Flying Dutchmen sent a total of 25 student-athletes to Grand Valley State University's Bob Eubanks Open.
The non-scoring meet was Hope's first competition of the school year.
"It was such a relief and so much fun. We waited so long," head coach Kevin Cole said. "Everyone had a smile on their face. You couldn't tell because they had on masks. Their eyes were smiling."
Cole was proud of how strong everyone performed in Hope's first track and field meet since the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Indoor Championships on February 29, 2020.
"I was pretty shocked how well we did. I figured it would take us awhile to get back in the swing of things," Cole said. "We had some really good performances all over the place. They picked up where they left off."
Photo of Ana Tucker by Lynne Powe
Junior Ellie Haan posted for the Flying Dutch a triple jump of 9.57 meters (31 feet, 4 3/4 inches). She was the lone entrant in the event.
Sophomore Ana Tucker took second in the 3,000 meters with a run of 9 minutes, 53.65 seconds. GVSU's Olivia Brian won in 9:48.52.
Haan finished fourth in the long jump.
Two more Hope runners raced in the 3,000 meters: freshman Rebecca Marksham (10:37.53) and senior Jacinda Cole (10:51.61).
Sophomore Grace Behrens placed runner-up in the 400 meters. She clocked a time of 1:03.12.
Two other Hope runners competed in the event: junior Sophie Hall (1:06.42) and freshman Madeline Moore (1:06.45).
Sophomore Lindsay Lane recorded a third-place pole vault of 2.45 meters (8-0 1/2).
The Flying Dutch's 4x400 relay of Behrens, junior Hayley Scollard, senior Hannah Kenny and Cole went 4:21.90 for fourth place.
Scollard took fifth in the 60-meter hurdles with a run of 11:02.
Behrens clocked the seventh-fastest time in the 60-meter dash with a run of 8:30 seconds.
Three other Flying Dutch runners competed in the event: sophomore Amanda Lines (8.43 seconds), sophomore Helen Dodge (8.50), and Moore (8.71).
