Many high school student/athletes are presented with a choice of colleges based upon their athletic prowess. They make decisions as to where they’ll attend college on factors such as enrollment, programs offered and coaches, but usually choose the college or university that will help further their athletic careers.
Edgerton’s Brent Van Schepen, a Dordt College senior, is an exception to that norm.
“The choice to go to Dordt really had nothing to do with the track and field program or the cross country program,” Van Schepen said Thursday morning. “I kind of felt God calling me to some job in the Ministry, and I thought Dordt would provide me with a good theological education.”
A well recognized cross country runner and track and field athlete at Southwest Christian in Edgerton, Van Schepen easily could have accepted offers to attend NCAA Division I schools following his career at SWC, but he saw his path as one that put his Christian education first and his athletic endeavors second.
“Sometimes, I think that our culture can put too much emphasis on sports,” Van Schepen, the son of Marlin and Karen Van Schepen of Edgerton said. “I believe that God created us as physical bodies, and he wants us to use them to enjoy things, such as work or recreation activities like sports. It’s hard to find the balance between doing a sport in college and not having it take up so much time that you neglect other things in life. It’s kind of a struggle, sometimes. I think if I focused solely on being a good athlete, I could have been much better, but I don’t think that’s necessarily what we’re called to do in life. I think there are other things that are more important than that. That’s really the aspect I love about athletics at Dordt, compared to a Division I program, where if you’re in a sport, that’s your life.”
Of course, Van Schepen’s focus will likely lean toward athletics this weekend, as he competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national cross country meet in Vancouver, Wash. Van Schepen, who began competing as a harrier for Dordt as a junior, will be making his second straight trip to the nationals following his 15th-place finish at the Great Plains Athletic Conference championships Nov. 7 in Fremont, Neb. – one of many accomplishments he’s achieved while attending the Sioux Center, Iowa institution.
“Brent has earned many honors since joining the team,” Dordt College head cross country coach Greg Van Dyke said. “Brent has had many top 10 finishes and a few individual titles (as a Defender), but the two that stand out to me are earning NAIA All-American Academic honors twice and running at the NAIA national meet twice. Brent also earned All-Conference honors this year, something that is very tough in the GPAC. Another big accomplishment Brent had this year was breaking the 26-minute barrier by running (8,000 meters) in 25:59.72 at the GPAC championships.”
The time Van Schepen posted at the GPAC meet was a personal best and helped him qualify for the nationals individually, but with his unselfish nature, he would gladly trade in the opportunity to compete in the meet as a team.
“I would have liked to compete as a team this year, but we didn’t get there,” Van Schepen said. “We had several team members come down with the H1N1 virus before the conference meet and missed out on qualifying as a group.”
Van Schepen is well versed in what it takes to excel in athletics both as an individual and with a team. He was a member of the Eagle soccer, basketball, cross country and track and field teams at SWC, earning all-conference honors for basketball and cross country his senior season as well as garnering an all-section selection as a harrier. In track and field, Van Schepen and his teammates qualified for the Minnesota state meet in the 4x400-meter relay as a junior and the 4x800-meter relay event as a senior. Van Schepen placed sixth individually in the 800 meters in 2005 and fourth in the event in 2006. And not to focus too much on the athletic side of life, Van Schepen balanced his senior year earning Academic All-State honors.
Not wanting to overexert himself during his freshman year at Dordt, Van Schepen opted to forego cross country and focus his energy on his studies in theology and prepare for the arduous spring track and field schedule.
“I just ran track my freshman and sophomore years,” Van Schepen explained. “I didn’t know if I’d be able to make that transition to college cross country because when you get to college, you’re running year round. You have summer cross-country training and the fall season. As soon as that’s over, the indoor track season starts, and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to handle all of that. So I just did track at first two years.”
In those first two years, Van Schepen excelled with the track and field team and, as a sophomore, helped the Defender 4x800-meter relay team qualify for the NAIA nationals.
Following his sophomore season, Van Schepen was approached by Van Dyke and was coaxed into joining the cross country program.
“Brent had an outstanding cross country career in high school,” Van Dyke said. “However, Brent didn’t run cross country his first two years in college because he felt he needed a break from his year round athletic schedule. I think he enjoyed the break, but he also missed it a lot. I never stopped recruiting him for cross country, and I was excited when he decided to join the team. A lot of the friends he made in track were also on the cross country team, so I know that made a big difference, as well.”
Despite having more activities on his schedule, Van Schepen continued to impress. As a junior, he qualified for the national cross country meet and followed that performance by helping the Defenders finish 6th nationally in the 4x800-meter relay during the indoor season and place fourth in the nation in the same event outdoors. Not only did Van Schepen’s physical preparation play an important role in his success, but mental preparation was also a factor.
“When I prepare for a meet, I do all of the regular things, eat right, warm up and stretch well, and just having the right mindset about why I’m doing what I’m doing,” He said. “The reformed tradition that Dordt stands for is that we can glorify God in all things in life. It’s not just going to church, but it’s doing everyday activities. So, I try to think about how I can glorify God by running, and that’s kind of tough to think about. I can either glorify God or glorify myself. So I try to tell myself I’m not doing this because I’m so great. Anything I can do is a gift from God, and he’s given me this ability. If I win a race or if I run my fastest time, I try to give that glory back to God rather than focus it on myself. That’s the mindset I have before and after each race, and try to keep that perspective on it.”
That mindset has helped Van Schepen keep everything in tune, and Van Dyke sees him as an individual that young people will look up to and try to emulate.
“If I had to think of two words to explain Brent, I would say Christian Character,” Van Dyke said. “It is evident that everything Brent does is for his Lord and Savior. I have really enjoyed coaching Brent for the past four years in track and field and for two years in cross country. Brent is the type of individual that you hope your kids grow up to be someday.”
With such high praise, it’s not a fluke that Dordt regularly recruits student/athletes from Southwest Christian. For many years, there has been a steady flow of student/athletes traveling from Edgerton to Sioux Center.
“I think that Dordt is blessed to have so many athletes from Southwest on their athletic teams,” Van Dyke said. “The student/athletes from Southwest contribute not only on the playing field, but also in the Dordt community. The Southwest/Dordt pipeline is working out well! I know as coaches, we definitely want to continue to work with Southwest and their students, as they play a vital role on our campus.”
Van Schepen’s brother, Tyler, joined the Dordt community this fall, but is still deciding whether an athletic career with the Defenders is in his plans. However, another gifted athlete, Nicolas Pfeifle, is slated to participate in track and field this winter and spring.
“Nic will be a great addition to the team,” Van Schepen said. “He’s a Minnesota state champion, and he’ll give our relay teams a boost as well as earning some points for the team in individual events.”
Last year, individuality took more of a back seat in Van Schepen’s life as he wed high school sweetheart Rebecca Schelhaas. Both will graduate this spring, but have yet to decide what path to follow.
“I’ll finish up my degree in theology, and Rebecca will have her degree in education, but we don’t know exactly what we’re going to do after graduation,’ Van Schepen said. “We’re looking at different jobs, some kind of mission work probably, but we’ll have to see what opens up.”
Whatever the future holds for Van Schepen, there’s no doubt he will quickly rise to the top and become a leader in his chosen field. He’s been a leader academically, earning NAIA Scholar Athlete status the last two years, and athletically in high school and college.
“I believe that Brent leads best by the Christian example that he displays in his life every day,” Van Dyke said. “You never have to wonder if he is giving his all.”