Alex Berends
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- Weight:
- 0
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- Hometown:
- Hudsonville, MI
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- Year:
- SR
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- High School:
- Hudsonville
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- Years Coached (at Taylor):
- Hudsonville
Bio
2017 at Taylor: Came back from injury to compete in four races … Posted the 13th-best TU time of the season with a mark of 18:35.1 at the Great Lakes Invite where she placed tenth … Finished eighth at the Crossroads League Championships … Scored as the fourth-best Trojan at NAIA Nationals with a 64th place finish … Named to All-Crossroads League Team … Earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete, Academic All-Crossroads League, and USTFCCCA All-Academic honors … Selected First-Team CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-District and All-America.
2016 at Taylor: Had season cut short due to injury … Ran season-best time of 18:32.7 at Indiana Wesleyan Invite to start year … Finished second-of-160 at IWU … Followed with 12th-place finish at Cedarville Invite … Scored among TU’s top-two in each race … Earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Crossroads League honors.
2015 at Taylor: Continued dominance as TU’s top runner … Posted second-fastest time in program history with winning mark of 17:50.6 at season-opening Indiana Wesleyan Invite … Went on to win five-of-six races during the regular season … Posted regular season win-loss record of 949-9 … Turned in Trojans’ top finish in seven-of-eight outings … Opened season with three sub-18:00 times in first four races … Turned in TU’s five-best times of season and six-of-top seven marks … Earned five Crossroads League Runner-of-the-Week honors … Garnered second NAIA National Runner-of-the-Week award for career … Set course records at Indiana Wesleyan and Bethel … Raced to All-Indiana Little State and All-Great Lakes honors for second-straight year … Repeated as Crossroads League Individual Champion … Finished 46th overall at NAIA National Championships … Repeated as TU’s Natalie Steele Award winner as top female athlete … Selected First-Team CoSIDA Academic All-America.
2014 at Taylor: Made immediate impact with wins in first two collegiate races … Ran season-best time of 17:55.9 at Crossroads League Championships … Won four-of-five regular season outings … Posted regular season record of 1,047-2 … Was TU’s top finisher in all six races … Turned in three sub-18:00 times … Earned five Crossroads League Runner-of-the-Week honors out of five eligible weeks … Named the NAIA National Runner of the Week after first collegiate outing … Set Taylor Cross Country Course record in first time on the course … Raced to All-Indiana Little State and All-Great Lakes honors … Claimed Crossroads League Individual Championship … Finished 11th at NAIA National Championships to garner NAIA All-American recognition … Voted as TU’s Natalie Steele Award recipient as top female athlete … Named the Crossroads League Female Athlete of the Year.
Prep: Earned four varsity letters on cross country and track squads for Kevin Conkel at Hudsonville High … Earned pair of All-Michigan honors for the Eagles in cross country … Set new 5,000-meter record for HHS … Named team’s Most Valuable Player in all four years … Claimed Ottawa-Kent Conference and regional Championships … Three-time All-OKC standout … Four-time all-region standout … Also earned pair of All-OKC honors in track … Named team MVP as a senior … Raced to OKC 1,600-meter championship … Set school records in 1,600, 3,200 and 5,000-meter races … Advanced to Michigan State Track and Field Championships twice … Four-time Academic All-Michigan performer … Named OKC Scholar-Athlete … Recipient of Alpha Beta Award, National Merit Finalist … Graduated Summa Cum Laude.
Personal: Daughter of Keith and Brenda Berends … Majoring in political science, philosophy and economics … Also majoring in international studies.
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