UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Grand Valley State men's and women's track and field teams swept the fourth consecutive GLIAC Indoor Championships on Sunday (Feb. 28). The women earned 255.33 points while the men took first with 249 points.
The women captured the 22
nd consecutive title in program history with 10 first-place finishes over the two-day championship. Freshman
Corrina Courser captured the bronze with an 8.92 mark in the 60H, while
Angelica Floyd (1
st; 7.52) and
Ashley Perryman (3
rd; 7.65) posted podium finishes in the 60m. Senior
Nicole Sreenan broke the GVSU 200m record – that she set last year – with a first-place time of 23.70. The women's 4x400m relay team comprised of
Jessica Eby,
Marcedes Chandler,
Taryn Chapko and Sreenan took the gold with a time of 3:46.77.
Chapko collected her first GLIAC title with a 2:12.63 first-place finish in the 800m, while
Sydney Nesbitt took silver with 2:15.02.
Olivia Brian (mile; 4:52.08) and
Klaudia O'Malley (3,000m; 9:30.16) edged out their respective competitions to earn the first GLIAC individual titles of their careers.
In the shot put,
Erika Lechner (14.08m) and
Elizabeth Pyles (13.90m) posted a 2-3 podium finish for the Lakers.
Alessia Olhava (2
nd) and
Jenna Doyle (5
th) scored in the high jump with a clear of 1.59m.
Elli Kimes capped off a perfect 4-for-4 GLIAC Indoor career with a first-place clear of 4.02m in the pole vault, while junior
Anna Obi earned her third GLIAC Indoor title in the triple jump with a leap of 11.56m.
Makiyah Smallwood (7.98) and
Jackson Blanchard (8.14) finished second and third, respectively, in the 60H, while
Jalen Kyles scored in the 60m (7.01) and 200m (21.68). The Lakers were represented by Blanchard (48.50),
Jaylen Hasan (48.88) and
Myles Rhodes (49.06) in spots 3-4-5 of the 400m finals. The men's 4x400m relay team of Hasan,
Brenden Faulkner,
Alexander Porter and Blanchard took silver with a 3:14.82 finish.
The Lakers collected 23 points in the 800m, with
Dennis Mbuta (1:51.93),
Steven St. John (1:52.05),
Elijah Bourdeau (1:52.09) and
Scott Spaanstra (1:52.35) landing at spots 2-5.
Caleb Futter (1
st; 4:04.45) and Mbuta (3
rd; 4:07.72) found spots on the podium in the mile. Junior
Tanner Chada posted a third-place time of 8:14.80, with
Isaac Harding (8:14.83), Futter (8:24.29) and
Connor Schwartz (8:24.44) also scoring for the Lakers.
In Sunday's field events, the men collected all three first-place finishes, with Eli Kosiba (2.01m; high jump),
Mac Mitchell (13.65m; triple jump) and
Justin Scavarda (18.39m; shot put) sweeping their respective fields.
Head coach
Jerry Baltes now boasts 42 total GLIAC Indoor Championship titles. GVSU will take next weekend off before traveling to Birmingham, Ala. for the Division II National Championships (March 11-13). Both squads rank at the top of the division in the latest USTFCCCA National Rating Index.
