Final Results
ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Grand Valley State track and field teams swept the GLIAC Indoor Championships for the third consecutive season on Sunday (March 1). The women dominated the competition with a final score of 242.50 points, while the men posted a strong decision with 208.50 points.
Over the course of two days, the women captured nine first-place finishes. Junior
Nicole Sreenan led the track with three titles, including a school record in the 60m dash with a time of 7.41, earning an NCAA DII automatic qualification. Sreenan defeated the 200m competition (23.84) by more than a second, and anchored the 4x400 relay team of
Jessica Eby,
Sarah Beulla and
Asia Smith to a commanding 3:44.47 win. As a result, Sreenan locked in the GLIAC Track Athlete of the Meet and Track Athlete of the Year accolades.
Allie Ludge tallied two individual titles, including a repeat as champion in the mile (4:52.05) and a win in the 3000m (9:37.03). Freshmen
Klaudia O'Malley (9:38.77) and
Natalie Graber (9:40.85) clocked in second and third place finishes, respectively, to account for a Laker women 3000m sweep. In the 800m race,
Molly McLaughlin claimed the bronze with a time of 2:16.36.
Sophomore
Anna Obi finished as the back-to-back GLIAC triple jump Champion with a leap of 11.70m, more than 50 meters farther than the runner-up. In the shot put,
Elizabeth Pyles threw for 13.73m, earning second place and a provisional qualification. Following yesterday's weight throw performance and her steady domination all year,
Bobbie Goodwin was named the GLIAC Field Athlete of the Year.
Head coach
Jerry Baltes and the GVSU coaching staff led the Laker women to earn an impressive 21
st consecutive title, earning them the GLIAC Coaching Staff of the Year.
The men racked up eight first-place titles over the two-day championships. Junior
Dennis Mbuta earned three titles, including a come-from-behind win in the 800m (1:51.89), a narrow finish in the mile (4:13.78) and Saturday's distance medley relay win with a time of 9:55.37.
John Groendyk (mile; 4:14.09) and
Noah Fuerst (800m;1:52.228) joined Mbuta on the podium with third place finishes in their respective events.
In the 3000m race, the Laker men posted a sweep of the competition with
Connor Schwartz claiming first in 8:06.33, while
Enael Woldemichael (2
nd; 8.07.00) and
Tanner Chada (3
rd; 8:08.80) followed his steps. All three men earned provisional qualifications. Freshman
Brendan Parr collected the GLIAC Freshman Track Athlete of the Meet honor for his first-place finish in Saturday's 5000m race.
Tyler Mansfield (8.18) and
Tyler Kirkwood (8.20) earned silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the 60m hurdle finals. The men's 4x400 relay team of
Alexander Porter,
Daniel Walker,
Jaylen Hasan and
Andrew McFarland collected second place in 3:13.61, good for a provisional qualification.
From the field,
Ryan Mount took first place in the high jump with a clear of 2.08m. Also earning gold medals were
Alex Peskin (pole vault; 4.73m) and
Justin Scavarda (shot put; 17.72m).
The men captured their 19
th title in the last 21 years with a 27.50 point victory over runner-up Ashland.
GVSU will take one week off before heading to Birmingham, Ala. for the 2020 NCAA Division II National Championships on March 13.
