HOPE WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY ORIGINS AND MILESTONES
Cross country for women became an intercollegiate sport at Hope in 1981. Over a relatively short period of time, the program has become highly regarded at the conference, regional and national levels.
Five years into the program, Hope was both conference and NCAA Great Lakes Regional champion. Over a 30-year period, the Flying Dutch have been a top-five team in the region 20 times and an MIAA champion 11 times.
Hope has excelled in the classroom as well. The Flying Dutch have earned the All-Academic Team Award all 30 times since the program started in 1990.
The Flying Dutch claimed five consecutive MIAA titles between 2015-2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 season. They won three in a row from 2021-2023, including a rare tie in 2023 with Calvin University. Hope also won three league titles in a row from 1985-87.
The 2004 Flying Dutch won the MIAA championship, ending a 14-year hold on first place by Calvin. Hope's five runners all finished in the top ten at the league championship meet, led by conference MVP Tina Pike. In 2011, Hope broke Calvin’s streak again by winning the league title.
The best finish by a Hope women's cross country team at the NCAA Division III championship was fourth place in 1993. It was an amazing accomplishment for a team that had finished second at both the conference and regional championships.
Hope College hosted the 1987 NCAA Division III national cross country championships for men and women. The races were run over a challenging, snow-covered course at the Holland Country Club.
The 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
ATHLETES OF NOTE
The best finish by a Hope runner at the NCAA Division III women's cross country championships is fourth place — by Marcia Vandersall in 1992, Erin Herrmann in 2017 and Ana Tucker in 2023. In 1993, Alicia Mendenhall-Elmore placed fifth at the national meet.
Ana Tucker '23 earned All-America honors a program-best three times: 2023, 2022 and 2020. The 2021 NCAA Championships were not held because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jilanne Bannink is Hope's most decorated female athlete by the MIAA. She was All-MIAA in cross country four consecutive years and three years in swimming.
Jennifer Ernst '00 achieved NCAA All-America status in both cross country and track (10,000 meters).
The 2021 Flying Dutch recorded their second-highest finish at nationals with an eighth-place effort in Louisville, Kentucky. Six of the seven runners competing were underclassmen.
The 2013 Flying Dutch finished ninth at the national championships. Senior Sheri McCormack placed ninth, the third-highest finish by a Hope runner.
The 2012 Flying Dutch won the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, Hope's first title in 25 years. The team went on to finish 10th at the national championship.
Michelle Kerr claimed the NCAA Elite 90 Award in 2015 at the NCAA Division III Championships in Winneconne, Wis. The Elite 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. Kerr was a nursing student with a 4.0 grade point average. She also won the award as a sophomore in 2013.
Six Hope runners have earned College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-America honors: Ana Tucker (2023, 2022), Chelsea Miskelley (2020), Rebecca Timmer (1999), Ellen Schultz (1998), Tauna Jecmen and Marie Matchett (1997).
COACHES OF NOTE
Coach Mark Northuis has coached the Flying Dutch to success at the league, regional and national level since 1988. His teams have claimed 11 MIAA titles, three Great Lakes Regional titles, and 14 consecutive NCAA appearances between 2010 and 2023. Northuis was honored as the Great Lakes Regional Coach-of-the-Year in 2012 and 2015 and MIAA Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2023.
