2009-10 Season Preview
Heading into the 2009-10 season, the Golden Eagles return ten athletes with national qualifying experience, four WHAC champions, and three NAIA All-Americans. The addition of six freshmen with state meet experience, including seven All-State honors makes the Golden Eagles one of the top teams in the WHAC for both the indoor and outdoor conference meets.
Sprints
Since 2001, Cornerstone men have run NAIA Indoor nationals qualifying performances in the 4x400 relay. The 2010 team should have no trouble extending the streak another year. Senior Jake Erickson (Bloomingdale HS/Bangor, MI) leads the crew with a 48.46 personal best and is a threat to break the school record in the 400m either indoors or outdoors in his final season. A duet of talented freshman sprinters in Jeff Burd (Maple Valley HS/Nashville, MI ) and Zach Yeo (Cedar Springs HS/ Cedar Springs, MI) look to bolster the depth in the 4x400 and chase Erickson’s indoor and outdoor freshman records in the 400m. Burd is a three time state champion in the sprints earning the 400m title as a senior and anchoring a pair of 4x400 state champion relays his junior and senior years. Yeo, brings in PR’s of 22.3 for the 200m and 50.4 in the 400m. Sophomore, Jimmy Russ (Northview HS/Grand Rapids, MI) has already shown great improvement in fall conditioning and looks to lead the Golden Eagles in the short sprints.
Hurdles
The Golden Eagles return three solid hurdlers from the 2009 team. At the top of this list is the school record holder in the 400H (53.09) and co-record holder in the 60H (8.66), Kurtis Koffkey (Swartz Creek HS/Swartz Creek, MI). Not far behind is Adam Duerksen (Mancelona HS/Mancelona), a national s qualifier in the 400H in ’09 with a PR of 55.20. Next, junior, Jim VanOss (South Christian HS/Kentwood, MI) won the team’s Most Improved Athlete Award in 2009 for slashing his personal record in the 400H by over 5 seconds in lowering his personal record to 55.52 and narrowly missing a trip to outdoor nationals in the event.
Distance
Two-time national runner up in the steeplechase, Zach Ripley (Northview HS/Grand Rapids) leads the strong distance group. The two-time WHAC champion and conference record holder in the barriers and water jump event led a 1-3 CU sweep at the 2009 WHAC meet with help from Alex Green (Northview HS/Grand Rapids) and Peter Kaijala (Mona Shores HS/Muskegon, MI). Green took 11th at the NAIA Championships lowering his PR to 9:17.15. In the 5,000 meters the Golden Eagles return the quintet of Green (15:04.87), Ripley (15:06.34), Stephan Larson (Rockford HS/Belmont, MI), 15:34.69; Billy Carl (DeWitt HS/DeWitt, MI), 15:46.80; and Kris Shear (Rockford HS/Rockford, MI), 15:49.70. Larson’s talent extends through the marathon distance and the 2008 All-American looks to complete his collegiate career with another plaque in the 26.2 mile event.
Freshmen Jared (Hudsonville, HS/Wyoming, MI) Courtright and Cody Risch (Williamston HS/Mason, MI) bring 4:31 PR’s in the 1600 which should help the Distance Medley qualify for Nationals for the seventh year in a row.
Jumps
Going vertically and horizontally over a bar or into a pit has never been a problem for the jumpers at Cornerstone. Freshmen in Eric Schroeder (Climax Scots HS/Scots, MI) and Chad Butler (Dryden HS/Dryden, MI) look to better the marks of last year’s freshmen in the long jump and pole vault. Schroeder a state qualifier in the long jump has gone over 20 feet and looks to be a combination jumper adding the triple jump this year. Butler has soared over 21 feet in the long jump earning MHSAA Division 4 All-State honors and has reached 13’9 in the pole vault capturing the 2009 State Runner-up
award in the event.
Throws
In 2009, Joel Leong (Macomb CC/Warren, MI) transferred to Cornerstone and immediately set about claiming school records in the throwing events. By year’s end he’d put his name in the record books for the shot put (44’ 4”) and 35 pound weight throw (60’ 3.25”) indoors and the discus (153’ 1”) and hammer throw (179’ 5”) outdoors, claiming three WHAC titles and a conference record in the process. For 2010 Joel intends to improve on his All-America fourth place in the weight throw at the NAIA Indoor Meet and duplicate that result in the hammer throw outdoors.
Multi’s
After the graduation of two time All-American Matt Haskins, the multi events squad was left with a big hole to fill. Getting started on that task will be first-year multi event athlete Chad Butler. The freshman from Dryden has a wealth of experience in the jumps and sufficient sprint speed to contribute on two state meet relay teams.
