Men's Track and Field Crowns Three Event Titles at MIAA Indoor Championships

The Hope College men's track and field team claimed two individual titles and one relay crown at the MIAA Indoor Championships on Saturday at Trine University.

The Flying Dutchmen claimed gold medals in the distance medley relay, the 200 meters and the 800 meters.

In the distance medley relay, senior Tyler King (Villa Park, Illinois / Willowbrook HS), senior Nicholas Guidone (Chicago, Illinois / Home School), junior Carter Dean (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City West) and junior Carston Cole (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) opened the meet with a winning time of 10 minutes, 45.20 seconds.

The relay repeated as MIAA champs and earned the top spot for the fourth time in team history.

"That was a testament to our depth in the middle distances," head coach Kevin Cole said. "We've more depth, in the mile especially, than any other team."

In the 200 meters, junior Liam Danitz (West Branch, Michigan / Ogemaw Heights) sprinted to the Flying Dutchmen's first MIAA title in the event with a meet-record run of 21.59 seconds — 0.21 faster than Albion College's Will Davis. Danitz topped the previous meet record of 21.64 set by Jordan Brown of The University of Olivet in 2024.

Senior Alex Daniels (Holland, Michigan / Holland) recorded a fifth-place time of 22.58.

In the 800 meters, Hope went 1-2. senior Erickson Kunzler (Marne, Michigan / Grand Rapids Catholic Central) earned his first MIAA gold medal by clocking a time of 1:56.09 — a half-second faster than Guidone.

Senior Connor Vachon (Jenison, Michigan / Jenison) finished fourth at 1:57.68. Sophomore Tim Peterson (Portage, Michigan / Portage Northern) was sixth at 1:59.48.

The Flying Dutchmen finished the seven-team meet in third place with 118 points.

Hope scored in six more events.

The Flying Dutchmen recorded a silver-medal time in the 4x400 relay of 3:22.37 from freshman Dylan Terpstra (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hudsonville), Daniels, senior Joshua Ennen (Zeeland, Michigan / Zeeland West) and Danitz.

In the 60 meters, Danitz earned a silver medal, crossing the finish line at 6.83 seconds — 0.06 behind Davis. Daniels took fourth at 6.97.

In the 3,000 meters, freshman Logan Begeman (Portage, Michigan / Portage Central) claimed a bronze medal with a time of 8:43.17.

Three more Flying Dutchmen scored in the event: 5. junior Carston Cole (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) at 8:49.98; 7. freshman Elias Kretchmar (Granville, Ohio / Granville) at 8:56.78; and 8. junior Ian Petruska (Fort Collins, Colorado / Fort Collins) at 8:59.26.

In the 400 meters, Terpstra recorded a fifth-place run of 50.83 seconds. Freshman Kevin Barifagok took seventh at 50.94.

In the weight throw, junior Brendyn Mroz (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grandville) finished fifth with a toss of 15.76 meters (51 feet, 8 ½ inches).

In the high jump, sophomore Henry Burnham (Carmel, Indiana / Carmel) placed eighth with a leap of 6.25 meters (20-6 ¼).

Trine University repeated as MIAA champion after scoring 181 points and finishing 46 points ahead of Calvin University. After Hope, Albion finished fourth with 77.5 points and was followed by The University of Olivet (52), Adrian College (40.5) and Alma College (17).

Gallery: (3-1-2025) Men's MIAA Indoor Track and Field

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