Results
Grand Valley State opened up the outdoor track season at three different meets over the weekend. The Laker distance runner traveled to Palo Alto, Calif. for the Stanford Invitational, the pole vaulters were in Abilene, Texas for the Oliver Jackson Invite, and the rest of the squad was at the Grand Rapids Open at Houseman Field in Grand Rapids. Multiple Lakers recorded personal bests, NCAA Qualifying marks, and three women set school records.
In California, senior Mandi Zemba posted one of the fastest 5K times in the nation this year at any level. She won the second section of the 5,000 meter run by 23 seconds and ran the last 3,000 meters of the race by herself. Zemba finished the race in a time of 16:00.65, which ranks her in the top 10 of all times in the U.S. that have been run this season. She broke the old school record set by Natalie Ewing in 2003 by over 40 seconds. The time was an NCAA automatic qualifying time and leads the nation at the Division II level. On the second day of the meet, Zemba ran a lifetime best, school record, and NCAA Qualifying time of 4:20.48 in the 1,500 meter. She finished in second place overall and broke Steph Kulman's old record of 4:24.00 from the 2003 season. Her time in the 1,500 leads all of Division II this outdoor season.
Karlie Singleton had an NCAA Qualifying time of 36:08.21 in the 10,000, which broke Jeannette Seckinger's record that she set in 2003. Stacey Kandas ran a personal best by over a minute and a half in the 10,000 in a time of 37:02.06. Lauren Bader ran a qualifying mark of 17:21.26 in the 5,000 meter, while Laura Aderman also ran a qualifying mark in the same race in a time of 17:31.73.
"This was a great trip for our women as we got to compete in great fields and everyone was able to record NCAA Qualifying times that should hold up and get them into the NCAA National Championships at the end of the season," said head coach Jerry Baltes.
"Mandi's efforts were simply outstanding," added Baltes. "She has established herself as one of the top distance runners in the country at any level. We are excited to see her continue to progress over the next year and a half."
The Laker pole vaulters also recorded a solid performance in Abilene, Texas. Junior Rachel Duthler, freshman Dianna Noonan, and sopohmore Lindsey Jones all cleared NCAA Qualifying marks 12'1.5". Aleisha Taylor Taylor recorded a mark of 11'0.0".
"Our women vaulters are leading the way for us with the combination of their depth and power up front on the national scene," said Baltes.
In Grand Rapids, the rest of the Laker women's squad had a great start to the outdoor season. Brandi Murrell won the 1,500 meter run with a time of 4:52.16, Heather VanderSlik placed first in the high jump (5'4"), and Mary Bogner won the shot put with a toss of 39-00. Lindsey Jacob took first in the javelin throw (112-00), while the 4x400 relay team won in a time of 3:57.47.
"This was a great start for our sqaud as a whole," said Baltes. "It was good to get back competing after the time between the indoor and outdoor seasons. We have a lot of work to do yet in order to be ready to defend our GLIAC title and improve our national marks."
On Saturday, April 8, Grand Valley State will send part of their squad to the Cougar Classic at SIUE in Edwardsville, Ill., while the others will go to the Bulldog Invite at Ferris State.
