Intercollegiate Sports

Athletic Department
2001 Season News

NOV. 3 — Beels' Season's Best Paces Leafs In Last Meet Of Year
Senior finishes 53rd in leading Goshen to 11th place finish in Michigan


Senior Marten Beels 		Jackson, MI — Running his best time this season by four seconds, senior Marten Beels led Goshen to an 11th place team finish in the 14-team Cross Country Championships at Elia Sharp Park in Jackson, Michigan this Saturday. The NAIA Region VII championship meet concluded the season for Goshen.

Beels’ time of 27:31 placed him at 53rd out of an overall 130 participants. Beels was followed by a host of Leafs finishing within a minute of his mark — sophomore Justin Wikerd placed 56th, freshman Justin Gillette 63rd and junior Merlin Miller 80th.

Goshen beat conference rivals St. Francis and Marian in the team event. Siena Heights University took the team medallist honors. John Ngure of Huntington took first individually with a time of 24:04.

Goshen Individual Results
Marten Beels (53rd) — 27:31
Justin Wikerd (56th) — 27:35
Justin Gillette (63rd) — 27:52
Merlin Miller (80th) — 28:27
Daniel Stowe (115th) — 30:26
Brock Birky (124th) — 32:24

OCT. 20 — Wikerd Leads Men To 16th Place Finish In Kentucky
Team runs strong at Georgetown College event

Sophomore Justin Wikerd 		Versailles, KY — The Goshen College men’s cross country team finished with a 16th place overall finish in the 24 team Southeastern Classic hosted by Georgetown College Saturday.

Pacing the Leafs was sophomore Justin Wikerd, who took 59th place with a time of 28:37 out of 200 runners. Senior Marten Beels finished at 72nd with a 28:57 clip.

Life University took home team medallist honors at the event. Life’s Joseph Mutui finished first individually, with a time of 25:22.

Goshen Individual Resutls
Justin Wikerd (59th) — 28:37
Marten Beels (72nd) — 28:57
Justin Gillette (100th) — 29:45
Merlin Miller (109th) — 30:04
Daniel Stowe (166th) — 32:22
Brock Birky (186th) — 35:03

OCT. 13 — Runners Take 23rd In Major Invitational
Thirty-two teams compete at UW-Parkside Championships

Freshman Justin Gillette 		Kenosha, WI — The men’s cross country team took home a 23rd place finish in a massive, 32-team race this weekend at the University of Wisconsin Parkside.

Running against schools from NCAA Divisions I, II and III along with several NAIA schools, the Leafs were paced by freshman Justin Gillette who finished 116th out of 328 competitors. Gillette finished with a time of 28:39. Following closely behind was senior Marten Beels who finished 130th with a 28:48 time.

Indiana State University took the team event, while the Unversity of Wisconsin’s Cornelius Hill took the individual championship with a time of 25:51.

Goshen Individual Results
Justin Gillete (116th) — 28:39
Marten Beels (130th) — 28:48
Merlin Miller (156th) — 29:10
Daniel Stowe (277th) — 31:43
Brock Birky (316th) — 34:54

OCT. 6 — Leafs Fall To Fourth In GC Invite
Cold conditions produce slower times for men at home

Recovering: Sophomore Justin Wikerd
paces after his ninth place finsih at the
Goshen College-Ponderosa Invite
Saturday.



Finishing Strong: Senior Marten Beels
crosses the finish line in 11th place
Saturday. Beels was the third place finisher for the Leafs squad.

Goshen, IN — The Goshen men had a tough time at Saturday’s Goshen College-Ponderosa Invite, taking home a fourth place team finish out of the four-team field.

Freshman Justin Gillette paced the Leafs with a time of 27:49 in the 8K run, good enough for a seventh place finish. Sophomore Justin Wikerd wasn’t far behind, finishing ninth with a 27:52 clip.

Bethel’s Gregg Howard won the individual race with a time of 26:57. Kalamazoo took the team event with a score of 42. Bethel was second, Manchester third and Goshen fourth — the Leafs tallied a 69 score.

Goshen Individual Results
Justin Gillette (7th) — 27:49
Justin Wikerd (9th) — 27:52
Marten Beels (11th) — 27:59
Merlin Miller (16th) — 28:29
Daniel Stowe (26th) — 30:03
Brock Birky (27th) — 34:10
Matt Nyce (28th) — 34:14





















SEPT. 29 — Goshen Takes Eighth Place at Invite
Beels paces team with 18th place finish at Indiana Wesleyan

Senior Marten Beels		 Marion, IN — Goshen finished with an eighth place finish in Saturday’s Indiana Wesleyan Invittational meet. Goshen’s total team time was 2;26:29.0, for an average time of 29:17.8. Leading the way for the Leafs was senior Martin Beels, finishing 18th with a time of 27:35. Sophomore Justin Wikerd finished 29th with a 28:03 finish, while junior Merlin Miller finished 32nd with a time of 28:08.

Indiana Wesleyan won the team event, finishing with an average time of 27:09. Preston Grey, Cornerstone, won the individual meet finishing with a 25:34 time.

Goshen Individual Results
Marten Beels (18th) — 27:35
Justin Wikerd (29th) — 28:03
Merlin Miller (32nd) — 28:08
Daniel Stowe (48th) — 30:42
Matthew Nyce (51st) — 33:20
Brock Birkey (52nd) — 33:34

SEPT. 8 — Men Finish Ninth At Taylor
Beels leads leafs at 11-team invitational

Sophomore Justin Wikerd 		Upland, IN — Goshen came away with a ninth place finish at the Taylor Invitational Saturday. Leading the pace for the Leafs was senior Marten Beels, finishing 30th out of the 110 runners. Sophomore Justin Wikerd finished 37th, just 18 seconds off of Beels’ pace.

The University of Indianapolis finished first in the team event, while John Ngure of Huntington College took first in the individuals, finishing with a time of 25:34.

Goshen Individual Results
Marten Beels (30th) — 29:17
Justin Wikerd (37th) — 29:35
Justin Gillette (44th) — 29:59
Merlin Miller (52nd) — 30:51
Daniel Stowe (72nd) — 33:20
Matthew Nyce (74th) — 35:13
Brock Birky (75th) — 39:09

SEPT. 1— Leafs Start Season With Fourth Place Finish
Gillette is first Leaf to cross finish line

Freshman Justin Gillette 		Defiance, OH — The Goshen College men’s cross country team took a fourth place finish out of nine teams in Saturday’s Defiance Invitational. Freshman Justin Gillette paced the Leafs, finishing with in the fifth slot with a time of 27:14. Senior Marten Beels was ninth overall with a time of 27:50 on the 8K course.

“This is the best start we’ve had since I came to Goshen,” Goshen head coach Phil Hostetler said. “I’m very pleased.”

Goshen Individual Results
Justin Gillette (5th) — 27:14
Marten Beels (9th) — 27:50
Justin Wikerd (12th)
Matt Nyce (39th)
Brock Birkey (44th)