2025 Hope College Men's Outdoor Track and Field Season Preview

The Hope College men's track and field team is ready to get outside and compete.

The Flying Dutchmen move into the second part of their season this weekend in South Carolina. Hope aims to build off a successful indoor campaign that included six All-MIAA selections and one MIAA Most Valuable Track Athlete in junior sprinter Liam Danitz of West Branch, Michigan (Ogemaw Heights HS).

Danitz set Flying Dutchmen records in the 60 and 200 meters this winter and won the 200 meters at the MIAA Championships.

The exercise science major also qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in the 200 meters, which begin today in Rochester, New York.

Danitz was joined on the All-MIAA Indoor Track and Field Team by junior Carston Cole (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa), junior Carter Dean (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City West), senior Lucas Guidone (Chicago, Illinois / Taft), junior Tyler King (Villa Park, Illinois / Willowbrook) and senior Erickson Kunzler (Marne, Michigan / Catholic Central).

Kunzler was the MIAA indoor champion in the 800 meters. Cole, Dean, Guidone and King were distance medley champions.

ROSTER

The Flying Dutchmen return All-American runner Connor Vachon, who finished 13th at outdoor nationals in the 1,500 meters as a junior last season.

Vachon, a senior from Jenison, Michigan (Jenison). is one of Hope's two returning USTFCCCA All-Region and All-MIAA selections along with senior thrower/sprinter Aidan Kyle (Weston, Connecticut (Weston).

Vachon is the defending MIAA outdoor champion in the 1,500 meters. A Hope runner has won the event in four consecutive seasons.

A secondary education major, Vachon also placed runner-up in the men's outdoor 800 meters at the conference meet in 2024.

Kyle aims to become the first javelin thrower from Hope and the third in MIAA history to be a four-time league champion in the event. The communication major won the javelin last season with a toss of 55.37 meters (181 feet, 8 inches).

Kyle led a 1-2-3-4 Hope finish in the javelin at the MIAA Outdoor Championships, and all of them are returning: runner-up Matthew Bir (Wenatchee, Washington / River Academy), third-place Wil Pinkerton (Ann Arbor, Michigan / Pioneer) and Alex Daniels (Holland, Michigan / Holland).

Daniels also scored at last season's conference meet in the 100 meters, finishing sixth.

Eight more who scored for the Flying Dutchmen at the MIAA Outdoor Championship return to the roster.

In the 5,000 meters, there are two returning: runner-up Ian Petruska (Fort Collins, Colorado / Fort Collins) and third-place Cole.

In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, two scoring runners are back for Hope: third-place Jonathan Harlow (Holland, Michigan / Home School).

In the 10,000 meters, two runners who earned points return: the runner-up Petruska and sixth-place Chad Perrine (Jackson, Michigan / Jackson).

In the 1,500 meters, two point-earners return: Vachon and the fourth-place King.

Three field-event competitors who scored at the 2024 MIAA Championships will compete this season:

seventh-place shot putter Caleb Paarlberg (Alto, Michigan / Caledonia);
eighth-place high jumper Ethan Grevengoed (Spring Lake, Michigan / Spring Lake); and,
eighth-place hammer thrower Brendyn Mroz (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grandville).

COACHING STAFF

Head coach: Kevin Cole, 20th season
Distance coach and Recruiting Coordinator: Mark Northuis
Throws coach: Paul Markel
Pole vault coach: Jon Lunderberg
Assistant coaches: Kara Winton, Ben Turner

SCHEDULE

The Flying Dutchmen begin the outdoor season on Friday-Saturday, March 14-15, at the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge in South Carolina.

Hope will complete its annual spring break trip at Emory University (Georgia) on Friday-Saturday, March 21-22.

Upon returning home, the Flying Dutchmen compete in April at Grand Valley State University-hosted meets three times and one Wheaton College (Illinois)-hosted meet before the MIAA Outdoor Championships on Thursday-Friday, May 1-2, at Alma College.

The NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships on Thursday-Saturday, May 22-24, will be at the SPIRE Institute in Cleveland, Ohio.

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