Hope College rewind: Women's cross wins MIAA; Tucker, Vachon champs
Senior Ana Tucker and the Hope College women's cross country team made the field at the MIAA Championships chase them on Saturday.
The aggressive approach propelled both Tucker and the Flying Dutch to the top of the pack.
No. 24-ranked Hope raced to a winning total of 39 points and earned a seventh consecutive MIAA championship — the longest title run in team history.
Tucker, a senior, led the change with a first-place, 6K time of 20 minutes, 52.2 seconds at Shepherd High School in Shepherd, Michigan, near host Alma College.
"We decided we would take it out fast, and it really made a big difference," head coach Mark Northuis said. "We knew it was going to be a tough race. It was one of the better runs we put together the whole year..The Flying Dutch finished 11 points ahead of runner-up and No. 20-ranked Calvin University. Trine University placed third with 52 points.
Tucker (Midland, Michigan / H.H. Dow HS) sprinted away from a field of 128 runners and recorded a winning effort of 20 minutes, 52.2 seconds.
Adding to her extensive list of accomplishments, Tucker claimed her MIAA individual cross country title by finishing 42 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor, Calvin's Jenna Allman.
"It was nice to see her add that to her resume," Northuis said of Tucker. "She does well in her own rhythm. She is just much faster."
Saturday marked the seventh time a Flying Dutch runner won an MIAA women's individual title.
Previous Hope Champions
2018, Alexis Guttilla
2017, Erin Herrmann
2004, Tina Pike
1991, Katy Conlen
1987-88, Tauna Jecmen.
Tucker led a strong pack for the Flying Dutch, who were MIAA champions for the 12th time in team history.
Three more Hope runners placed in the Top 10 and four more among the Top 18.
Senior Ellie Jankowski (Granger, Indiana / Penn) clocked the fourth-fastest run at 21:4.8.6.
Senior Anna Mason (Zeeland, Michigan / Libertas Christian) took ninth at 22:16.7.
Freshman Madison Stern (Saline, Michigan / Saline) finished 10th at 22:21.3.
Senior Heleyna Tucker, Ana's sister, placed 15th at 22:45.6 to close out the Flying Dutch's scoring.
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Hope's Connor Vachon wins individual MIAA title
Hope College's Connor Vachon ended one long run in MIAA men's cross country. He and his Flying Dutchmen teammates nearly stopped another.
Vachon clocked a winning 8K time at the MIAA Championships of 24 minutes, 21.2 seconds on Saturday at Shepherd High School in Shepherd, Michigan.
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The sophomore from Jenison, Michigan (Jenison HS) is Hope's first MIAA men's cross country champion in 36 years. Calvin University runners had finished first in the previous 34 races. There was no MIAA championship held in 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Led by Vachon, Hope challenged Calvin for the team title before finishing four points behind the Knights with 27 points. It was the closest MIAA men's championship since the Flying Dutchmen beat Calvin by eight points in 1986. The Knights extended their string of MIAA championships to 34.
"The guys gave a great effort," head coach Mark Northuis said. "It was probably the best conference race in a long, long time. Some of our guys were freshmen in 2019 when we tied for third. Today we challenged one of the perennially best teams in the nation and lost by a couple of points."
No MIAA team had been closer than 18 points to Calvin since the Knights' run started in 1987. Hope finished 18 points behind Calvin in 2014. Kalamazoo trailed the Knights by 19 points in 1999.
On Saturday, the Flying Dutchmen posted four of the eight fastest runs just like the Knights did. Calvin posted one more Top 10 performance to secure the victory.
Vachon outkicked Calvin's Brandan Knepper, the 2021 MIAA champion, at the finish line and finished ahead by 6.6 seconds.
Senior Anders Bogard (Kalamazoo, Michigan / Mattawan) crossed the finish line next for the Flying Dutchmen in fourth at 24:52.3.
Sophomore Cole Jensen (Montague, Michigan / Montague) followed in sixth at 25:00.3.
Freshman Carston Cole (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) placed eighth at 25:05.9.
Senior Gabe DeYoung (Saegertown, Pennsylvania / Saegertown) capped Hope's scoring with a 12th-place time of 25:26.1.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Hope tops Kalamazoo in MIAA tournament
In a repeat opponent matchup in the MIAA Quarterfinals, theseed Hope College women's soccer team defeated No. 6 seed Kalamazoo College for the second year in a row to advance to the semi finals.
The Flying Dutch defense shined bright on a sunny day at the pitch of Van Andel Soccer Stadium with a 1-0 OT win.
"Between Tally Martinez, Megan McCauley, Jenna Mustapha, Olivia Dieppa and Kealeigh Usiak, they just put the Kalamazoo offense on lockdown", said head coach Leigh Sears of the shutdown defensive play by Hope.
Senior Emma Dutmers (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City Central HS) scored the game-winning goal in the first overtime period after freshman Madelyn St. John (Marshall, Michigan / Marshall) sparked the beginning of the play before a Kalamazoo defender attempted to clear the ball, but that ball landed at the feet of Dutmers who sent a left-footed shot just under the crossbar to send the crowd of Hope fans into a frenzy.
The grit and determination of the No. 3 seed Flying Dutch paid off as time would tick off for the 10th overall win for Hope, now 5-2-1 in conference play this season.
"We were doing what we wanted to do, we just weren't finishing, so we knew if we kept going we would wear them down and we'd eventually sink one in."
Kalamazoo's defense was a tough puzzle to break, however the Orange and Blue remained resilient to find the lone goal of the game. Lexi Nesbitt, the Hornets' goalkeeper, set a new MIAA Tournament record for saves in a game, with 20.
Junior Parker Hutchinson (Ada, Michigan / Forest Hills Central) was in net for the shutout win, her seventh shutout of the season, this time making six saves against Kalamazoo.
The Flying Dutch totaled 28 total shots in 110 minutes of gameplay, with senior Cassidy Broekhuizen (Byron Center, Michigan / South Christian) grabbing six total shots, and junior Natalie Hammer (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford) and freshman Hayley Flynn (Petoskey, Michigan / Petosky) firing out six and five shots on goal, respectively.
Hope travels to No. 2-seed Trine University for a semifinal matchup in Angola, Indiana. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 2.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hope College rewind: Women's cross wins MIAA; Tucker, Vachon champs
