by Dena Meiste
The Hope College men's track and field team earned runner-up honors at the 2021 MIAA Championships, marking the program's best-ever finish in the indoor arena.
The Flying Dutchmen tied Olivet College for second place with 101 points. Host Trine University won with 182 points.
"I was happy with that placing," head coach Kevin Cole said. "I thought the team really fought hard. We came back from a little deficit earlier in the day and kept scoring points. It's definitely our depth. We do a lot of scoring in the seconds, thirds, and fourths."
Junior Nick Hoffman (Holland, Michigan/Holland HS) helped elevate the Flying Dutchmen to second place, earning a pair of individual conference titles.
Hoffman was crowned champion in both the 3,000 meters and the mile. He became Hope's first-ever league winner in either event.
In session one, Hoffman edged out his nearest competitor in the 3,000 meters by just three seconds, clocking a time of 8:39.37 and setting a new meet record in the process. He returned in the second session to win his second conference title – and second meet record -- of the day, pacing the field with a time of 4:13.62.
Hoffman's 10 points from the mile victory leapfrogged the Flying Dutchmen into second place, after hovering in fourth and fifth for much of the day.
"Nick had an awesome day," Cole said. "We were hoping that he could come through for us and help us out a little bit. It was fun to watch. Nick's going to be a great runner for us."
With five events left in the meet, only four points separated second-place Hope and fourth place Olivet, with Calvin and Albion lingering in between.
Junior Nathaniel Trumble (Granger, Indiana / Trinity School At Greenlawn) helped the Flying Dutchmen's cause, adding five points to the tally with a fourth-place result in the 200 meters (23.10).
Earlier in the day, Trumble medaled in the 400-meter dash, clocking a 50.93 to put him in third. Nathan Woolum (Mattawan, Michigan/Mattawan), Drew Dow (Bridgman, Michigan/Bridgman), and David McHugh (Whitehall, Michigan/Reeths-Puffer) snagged the final three spots in the point-scoring top-eight.
Eli Meder (Williamston, Michigan/Lansing Catholic) earned runner-up honors in the 800 meters in a photo finish race. The freshman was edged by less than half a second by Calvin's Lucas VanderPloeg and took second place. Meder turned in a time of 1:58.13.
Trine entered the final event with a firm grasp on first place, but four teams – Hope, Calvin, Olivet and Albion – were still in contention for the last two spots on the podium.
Woolum led off the 4x400 meter relay and early on it became a two-team race between Hope and Olivet, with Calvin and Albion lagging behind. The Comets maintained a small lead but pulled away and out of reach by the third leg of the relay.
Other point scorers for Hope included:
- High Jump – Jared Lowe (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wyoming), fifth, 1.85 meters; Case Vanderzee (Holland, Michigan/Holland Christian), sixth, 1.75m
- Triple Jump – Lukas Bruxvoort (Holland, Michigan/Holland Christian), fifth, 12.60 m, Lowe, seventh, 12.06m
- Pole Vault – Barry Bait (Granville, Ohio/Granville), third, 3.95m; Zach Elmore (Cadillac, Michigan/Cadillac), fourth, 3.80m
- Shot Put - Noah Russo (Grand Rapids, Michigan/East Grand Rapids), fifth, 13.54 m; Andrew Althouse, sixth, 13.42m
- Distance Medley Relay – Third, 10:52.80, Zackary Murphy (Coldwater, Michigan/Coldwater), Benjamin Lentz (Charlevoix, Michigan/Charlevoix), Aidan Jones (West Olive, Michigan/Black River), and Luke Shoemaker (Elkhart, Indiana/Concord)
- Mile – Dan Campbell (Brighton, Michigan/Brighton), fifth, 4:27.34
- 800 meters – Aidan Jones (West Olive, Michigan/Black River), seventh, 2:01.23
- 60-meter hurdles — Jackson Player (San Antonio, Texas/Winston Churchill), fourth, 8.95.
