The Hope College women's cross country team has its sights set high for the 2022 season.
Returning 10 or their top 11 runners, the Flying Dutch look to keep their success from last year rolling. After topping the field at the 2021 MIAA Championships, as well as taking home their seventh overall Great Lakes Regional title, the orange and blue recorded their second-highest finish at the NCAA Division III Championships, placing eighth out of 32 teams. Junior Ana Tucker received All-America honors after an 11th-place finish individually.
Hope is starting the season among the teams to watch as the Flying Dutch are perched atop the women's rankings in the Great Lakes Region and eighth in the women's rankings from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Hope opens the season on Friday, September 2, in Shepherd, Michigan, at the Central Michigan University Drenth Invitational.
The MIAA Championships are Saturday, October 29, hosted by Alma College.
The Flying Dutch and Flying Dutchmen will host the 2022 NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Saturday, November 12, at Three Fires Golf Course in Holland.
Head Coach: Mark Northuis '82, 34th season
Associate Head Coach: Brian VanZanten
Assistant Coaches: Phil Jones, Avery Lowe
The Flying Dutch return 10 of their top 11 runners, and enter the 2022 season with 35 on the roster. The women return 19 letterwinners and three All-MIAA first-team selections: civil engineering major Rebecca Markham (Hoffman Estates , Illinois / William Fremd HS), exercise science major Ana Tucker (Midland, Michigan / Herbert Henry Dow), and public accounting major Anna Mason (Zeeland, Michigan / Libertas Christian).
By the Numbers
The eighth-place performance at the 2021 NCAA Champions was the Flying Dutch's second-highest finish and the fifth Top 10 performance all-time. Hope placed fourth in 1993 and ninth in 1987, 2013 and 2016.
Ana Tucker is one of nine different Flying Dutch runners who have earned All-America honors. The elite group has accomplished the feat a total of 11 times with Erin Herrmann and Becky Timmer both doing it twice (2015-16 and 1997-98, respectively.
Six of Hope's runners who competed at nationals last season return: Tucker, senior Anna Mason (Zeeland, Michigan / Libertas Christian), junior Rebecca Markham (Hoffman Estates, Illinois / Fremd), junior Ellie Jankowski (Granger, Indiana / Penn), senior Heleyna Tucker (Midland, Michigan / Herbert Henry Dow) and junior Libby Gorman.
During the 1985, 1986 and 1987 seasons, the Flying Dutch claimed three consecutive NCAA regional title titles for the first time. Hope also was regional champion in 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2021.
During his 33 seasons as head coach, Mark Northuis has guided the Flying Dutch to NCAA Championships appearances in 11 consecutive seasons and 15 overall. He also has led Hope to nine MIAA titles, including a current run of four in a row.
Coach's Outlook
"Our team this year really looks pretty good. You can take a look at what they did over the summer and that's what showed up in the first week when we went to team camp. We're really impressed with how they're looking, how they're pulling together as a team. We returned 6 of our 7 ladies who were 8th in the nation last year, so that team is very, very strong and we're real excited about the potential that we have there, along with the new freshmen who have came in we should be able to bring them along, help them get the experience they need at the national level, and really keep things going for years to come." -
Mark Northuis
