Ram girls track captures state runner-up honors
Ram girls track captures state runner-up honors
The Rockford High School Women’s Track and Field team capped a successful season with a Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) State Championship runner-up finish this past Saturday at East Kentwood High School.
They finished one point behind the state champs, Detroit Romulus.
The Rams had individuals in 12 of the meet’s 17 events and scored in six of those events.
Zeeland native soars to new heights at Division III track and field nationals – Holland, MI – The Holland Sentinel
Zeeland native soars to new heights at Division III track and field nationals
Hope sophomore an All-American despite injuring foot on jump
By GARY BROWER
myZeeland.com Staff
Posted Jun 08, 2009 @ 10:49 AM
Zeeland, MI —
John Donkersloot knew immediately something was very wrong.
As he approached the bar on his second attempt at 6-feet, 10 1/4 inches during the high jump competition at the NCAA Division III national meet, he felt a sharp pain in his right foot and he crumpled into the pit under the bar.
There was no doubt the Hope College sophomore’s bid for a national championship was over.
“I was jumping very well. I jumped 6-4 through 6-9 without any misses and then I had one miss at 6-10 1/4,” said Donkersloot, a 2007 Zeeland East graduate. “On my next jump, I did my approach as normal, and on my sixth step I was turning and pressing off simultaneously and all of a sudden my foot gave out.
“I knew something was very wrong. It was something I’d never done before and it was very painful,” he added. “It was like my foot just collapsed and I felt something break. I immediately knew I was done for the day.”
The season was over for Donkersloot, 19, but he’d done enough to earn a bronze medal in the meet at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio, and gain All-America status.
Eastern Michigan University Athletics – Karanja and Gersham Head to NCAA Track and Field Championships
TICKETS PUNCHED TO NCAA: The Eastern Michigan University men’s track and field will send two representatives to the 2009 NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., June 10-13. Senior distance ace Josh Karanja and junior thrower Gerald Gersham will each be making the trip for the Eagles. Karanja earns his second trip to the national championships, while Gersham will be traveling to his first.
QUICK LOOK-JOSH KARANJA: Senior Josh Karanja has made a name for himself in four years at Eastern Michigan and will be making his second trip to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the steeplechase as he made his first in 2007. This time around, Karanja has run the third fastest time in the NCAA this season, being bested by only Jake Morse of Texas and Corey Thorne of Louisville.