Calvin X-Country runners named Verizon first team Academic All-Americans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Jeff Febus - [email protected]

Grand Rapids, MI -- 
      
Klooster and Petersen first team Verizon Academic All-Americans

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - It has been nearly five months since the Calvin men's cross
country team captured its first national championship but the post-season honors
continue to roll in for its harriers as senior Paul Petersen and junior Joel
Klooster have been named first team Verizon Academic All-Americans in the
fall/winter at-large college division.

It marks the first time in Calvin men's athletic history and just the third
time in Calvin athletic history that two Calvin athletes from the same team have
been named first team Verizon/GTE Academic All-Americans in the same year. The
only other combinations to accomplish the feat were Holly Breuker and Amy
Kuipers of the Calvin women's track and field team in 1996 and Shauna Koolhaas
and Melanie Bolt of the Calvin women's softball team in 1997.

Calvin joins Emory as the only two schools with two first team Verizon Academic
All-America honorees on this year's fall/winter men's at-large college division
team. 

The college division of the Verizon Academic All-America program includes NCAA
II, NCAA III and NAIA schools. The Verizon Academic All-District and
All-America teams are selected by the College Sports Information Director's
Association of America (CoSIDA). To be eligible for nomination, a player must
be a starter or a key reserve with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.20. The men's
fall/winter division includes the sports of cross country, gymnastics, skiing,
fencing, ice hockey, soccer, water polo, wrestling, rifle and swimming and
diving.

A native of Crawforsdville, Indiana and a graduate of Southmont High School,
Petersen is making his first appearance on the Verizon All-Academic All-America
team. Petersen is a seven-time member of the Calvin Dean's List, a three-time
member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and a two-time recipient of the College
Cross Country Coaches All-Academic award. Petersen is majoring in geology and
carries a 3.82 grade point average.

This past fall, Petersen helped lead Calvin to its first-ever national title as
he finished 22nd individually with a time of 25:31 to help the Knights post a
first-place team score of 65 points. Petersen's individual finish was an
All-America performance as he was one of five Knights to earn All-America honors
at the national meet November 18 in Spokane, Washington. 

Earlier in the year, Petersen earned first team All-MIAA honors for the third
straight year as he finished fourth at the MIAA Championships with a time of
25:27 as the Knights captured their 14th straight league crown. Petersen's
fourth place performance was part of a 1-2-3-4-5 Calvin finish as the Knights
posted a perfect score of 15 points, becoming just the third team in MIAA men's
cross country history to record a perfect score at the league championships. At
the Great Lakes Regionals November 11 in Hanover, Indiana, Petersen finished
seventh with a time of 25:50 helping the Knights take first place with a team
score of 22 points. Petersen was then named to the Great Lakes All-Region team
for the second straight year. A four-year member of the Calvin men's cross
country team, Petersen also competed at the 1999 NCAA III Championships, helping
lead the Knights to a fourth place team finish as he finished 61st individually
with a time of 24:53

Klooster hails from Chatham, Ontario and is a graduate of Chatham Christian
High School. Klooster is receiving Verizon Academic All-America honors in cross
country for the second straight year as he was named to the third team a year
ago. An electrical engineering major with a minor in computer science, Klooster
carries a 3.98 grade point average. In addition, Klooster is a five-time member
of the Calvin Dean's List, a two-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and
a two-time recipient of the College Cross Country Coaches All-Academic award.

Klooster was also a key member of Calvin's national championship team this fall
as he earned All-America honors at the national meet by finishing 10th
individually with a time of 25:21. His finish was the sixth-best individual
finish at the national meet in Calvin men's cross country history. Earlier in
the year at the MIAA Championships, Klooster finished third with a time of 25:17
to earn a spot on the All-MIAA first team for the second straight year. Two
weeks later at the Great Lakes Regional, Klooster finished second in 25:35 to
earn Great Lakes All-Region accolades for the second year in a row. As a
sophomore, Klooster was named the MIAA's MVP and as a freshman, he earned a spot
on the All-MIAA second team. Klooster was a member of Calvin's seven-man
contingent that finished fourth at the 1999 NCAA III Championships as he
finished 51st individually.

Calvin has now had its athletes recognized as Verizon Academic All-Americans 41
times including 15 times in the last three years. In addition, it marks the
third straight year that a Calvin men's cross country runner has received
Verizon Academic All-America honors.