'True Team Effort' Vaults Women's Track and Field to Fourth MIAA Title in a Row

Event by event, Hope College accumulated points at the MIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and set the stage for a four-peat.

The Flying Dutch's winning performance in the second-to-last event — a 1-2-3 medal sweep in the 5,000 meters — made them champions again.

Hope finished the two-day meet at Albion College with 171 points. The Flying Dutch finished 19 points ahead of runner-up Albion for their eighth outdoor MIAA title.

Photo by Lynne Powe

Head coach Kevin Cole said the Flying Dutch rose to the occasion while extending their championship run (2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022). The 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It was a toss-up coming into the meet," Cole said. "It was a true team effort. We had one champion. It was everybody getting those places from second to eighth and never giving up."

Hope's MIAA Team Titles

Anna Mason poses for a headshot photo In the 5,000 meters, junior Anna Mason (Zeeland, Michigan / Libertas Christian), pictured, led the Flying Dutch charge by recording a winning run of 17 minutes, 37.16 seconds.

Junior Ana Tucker (Midland, Michigan / Midland) finished runner-up at 17:49.75. Sophomore Rebecca Markham (Hoffman Estates, Illinois / William Fremd) took third at 17:51.89.

Hope's MIAA Event Champions | Day 1 Recap

The Flying Dutch scored in 12 more events on Friday, including runner-up performances in three.

Hope finished second in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

In the 4x100, Helen Dodge (Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan / Grosse Pointe South), Amanda LInes (Naples, Florida / First Baptist), Kimmie Drake (Katy, Texas / Seven Lakes) and Grace Behrens (MIshawaka, Indiana / Trinity School at Greenlawn) clocked a time of 49.74 seconds.

In the 4x400 relay, Julie Timperman (Lafayette, Indiana / Faith Christian), Behrens, Ellie Jankowski (Granger, Indiana / Penn) and Jacinda Cole (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) recorded a run of 4:03.83.

In the 400, Behrens finished second with a time of 1:00.24. Timperman took third at 1:01.63. Madeline Moore (Hillsdale, Michigan / Hillsdale) was eighth at 1:06.88.

In the 200, Behrens placed third with a run of 25.89. Dodge was sixth at 27.06.

In the 100, Lines recorded a third-place time of 12.84. Dodge was fifth at 13.17.

In the 400 hurdles, Hayley Scollard (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City Central) finished third with a run of 1:07.25. Sophie Hall (Holt, Michigan / Haslett) clocked a fourth-place time of 1:09.91. Anna Haseley (Jenison, Michigan / Hudsonville) took sixth at 1:12.31. Erin Kloostra was eighth (Kalamazoo, Michigan / Loy Norrix) at 1:12.75.

In the javelin, Libby Strotman (Park Ridge, Illinois / Maine Township) posted a third-place and season-best toss of 32.91 meters (108-0). Riki Ediger (Hudsonville, Michigan / Haslett) was fourth with a season-best throw of 32.24 (105-9).

In the 800, Jankowski clocked a fourth-place run of 2:19.10. Cole was fifth at 2:20.22.

In the 1,500, Hope finished fourth, fifth and sixth: Cole at 4:50.21, Jankowski at 4:53.31 and Heleyna Tucker (Midland, Michigan / H.H. Dow) at 4:53.67.

In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Hope went 5-6-7-8: Maddy Struck (Hainesville, Illinois / Grayslake Central) at 12:00.46, Kennedy Kuhlmann (Grand Blanc, Michigan / Grand Blanc) at 12:09.07, Katie Cole (Batavia, Illinois / Batavia) at 12:10.94, and Lauren Taylor (Yorkville, Illinois / Yorkville) at 12:17.08.

In the triple jump, Taylor Novotny (Batavia, Illinois / Batavia) recorded a sixth-place leap of 10.20 meters (33-5 ¾). Kyria Gowman (Livonia, Michigan / Aladi Stevenson) was eighth at 9.20 meters (30-2 ¼).

In the 100 hurdles, Scollard finished seventh at 16.97. Lily Kueber (Northville, Michigan / St. Catherine of Siena) was eighth at 17.39.

Trine University finished third with 156 points and was followed by Calvin University (102), Olivet College (59), Alma College (53), and Adrian College (45).

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