Six more MIAA event titles. One league meet record. And, most important, a third consecutive MIAA team championship.

The Hope College women's track and field team made the most of a sunny Friday at Olivet College, winning the two-day MIAA Outdoor Championships in commanding fashion with 240 points. 

After Friday, the Flying Dutch finished 74 points ahead of runner-up Calvin University to sweep indoor and outdoor MIAA team titles for the third time in program history along with the 2022 and 2018 teams. Hope won the 2023 indoor championship by 105 points at Trine University — the MIAA's largest margin of victory in the sport.

"It was a fun cap to the season," head coach Kevin Cole said. "It's certainly one of the best teams I've ever had. There are a lot of seniors that I am going to miss next year, but it's been a lot of fun this year."

The outdoor MIAA titles are the ninth in school history and seventh outright.

"I was comparing how we did in each one of the events to how I expected to do," Cole said. "Across the board, we were either matching what I expected or exceeded it. They didn't have any kind of dip being the favorites. They rose to the occasion and did even better."

In the 4x100 relay, Hope surpassed an MIAA meet record that stood for 21 years before freshman Ava Schmidt (Saline, Michigan / Saline HS), senior Grace Behrens (Mishawaka, Indiana / Trinity School at Greenlawn) and senior Helen Dodge (Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan / Grosse Pointe South) clocked a school-record time of 47.72 seconds.

Calvin held the previous MIAA mark of 48 seconds flat since 2002. Earlier in the season, the relay broke the Hope record with a run of 47.82.

The Flying Dutch swept the relays as they closed the meet with the 4x400 team of senior Julie Timperman (Lafayette, Indiana / Faith Christian), freshman Sara Schermerhorn (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City West), junior Erin Moran (Arlington Heights, Illinois / John Hersey) and Behrens clocking a first-place 3:54.92.

Schermerhorn captured both MIAA sprint titles, recording a winning 100-meter run of 12.15 seconds and a first-place 200-meter title of 24.98 seconds.

In the 200 meters, three more Flying Dutch sprinters placed: Behrens in third at 25.98 seconds, Timperman in fourth at 25.98, and Dodge in sixth at 26.41.

In the 100 meters, two more Hope runners scored: Dodge in fourth at 12.84 and Schmidt in sixth at 13.05.

Senior Ana Tucker (Midland, Michigan / H.H. Dow) captured both MIAA distance crowns by winning the 5,000 meters in 17:46.10 on Friday and leading a 1-2-3 Hope College finish in the event. Tucker won the 10,000 meters on Thursday.

In the 5,000 meters, junior Rebecca Markham (Hoffman Estates, Illinois / William Fremd) finished second at 18:17.83. Senior Anna Mason (Zeeland, Michigan / Libertas Christian) was third at 18:19.43.

Hope went 1-2 in the javelin.

Junior Libby Strotman (Park Ridge, Illinois / Maine Township) eclipsed teammate Riki Ediger (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hamilton) on the final attempt and posted a winning toss of 36.07 meters (118-4). Ediger finished second at 35.72 meters (117-2). 

Two more Hope throwers placed in the event: junior Amanda Timonen (Palatine, Illinois / William Fremd) in fifth at 32.15m (105-5) and senior Lauren Tocco (Traverse City, Michigan / St. Francis) in eighth at 31.33 (102-9).

Hope also scored in seven more events.

In the 400 meters, Behrens clocked a runner-up time of 58.06 seconds. Three teammates also placed: Timperman in fourth at 1:00.02, freshman Hannah Tsiang (Brighton, Michigan / Brighton) in seventh at 1:02.12 and freshman Catherine Leahy (Elk Rapids, Michigan / Elk Rapids) in eighth at 1:02.68.

In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, sophomore Maddy Struck (Hainesville, Illinois / Grayslake Central) finished MIAA runner-up after recording a season-best time of 11:25.18. Sophomore Kennedy Kuhlmann (Grand Blanc, Michigan / Grand Blanc) was fifth at 11:44.20. 

In the triple jump, four Flying Dutch scored: freshman Elliana Johnson (East Lansing, Michigan / Haslett) in fourth at 10.48 meters (34-4 ¾), junior Taylor Novotny (Batavia, Illinois / Batavia) in sixth at 10.08 meters (33-1), sophomore Allison Schram (Fenton, Michigan / Hartland) in seventh at 9.33 meters (30-7 1/2) and senior Kyria Gowman (Livonia, Michigan / Adlai Stevenson) in eighth at 9.30 meters (30-6 1/4).

In the 1,500 meters, three Hope runners placed: senior Ellie Jankowski (Granger, Indiana / Penn) in third at 4:45.79, junior Olivia Quillan (Grandville, Michigan / Calvin Christian) in fourth at 4:49.83, and freshman Madison Stern (Saline, Michigan / Saline) in eighth at 4:53.63.

In the 800 meters, three Flying Dutch scored: Jankowski in fourth at 2:19.18, senior Samantha Schermerhorn (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City West) in fifth at 2:20.17, and Quillan in sixth at 2:23.16.

In the 400-meter hurdles, two Hope runners earned points: freshman Molly Durow (Glenview, Illinois / Glenbrook South) in sixth at 1:09.08 and Johnson in seventh at 1:10.54.

In the discus, freshman Kamryn Bice (Monroe, Michigan / Monroe) took sixth at 35.71 meters (117-02). Sophomore Greta Robrahn (Zeeland, Michigan / Zeeland East) was eighth at  35.06 meters (115-0).