BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Grand Valley State men's and women's track and field teams hold control of the top spot after Thursday and Friday's action. The women rank first with 34 points while the men earned 29 points.
Seniors
Angelica Floyd and
Nicole Sreenan led the Laker women in the fast lane with final qualifications in the 60m by Floyd and 200m and 400m by Sreenan. Also competing in Saturday's finals are
Taryn Chapko (800m) and
Allie Ludge and
Klaudia O'Malley (mile). In the 5,000m race,
Jessica Gockley collected four points with a fifth-place PR of 16:29.77, while
Kayce Rypma finished one slot behind her with a 16:50.30 sixth-place mark.
Adding to the women's 34 points are two NCAA DII National Championship titles. After finishing runner-up in the pole vault at the 2019 Indoor Nationals,
Elli Kimes redeemed herself by capturing the gold medal with a 4.15m clear. Also scoring for the Lakers was senior
Carly Livingston with a 3.95m mark, good for 8
th place. The women's distance medley relay team of
Hannah Roeske,
Jessica Eby, Chapko and Ludge jumped out from the start and did not turn back. The women took the crown with a dominant 11:21.94 finish, more than 11 seconds ahead of runner-up CSU-Pueblo.
Judith Essemiah collected the first points of the meet for GVSU with a distance of 19.77m in the weight throw, good for third-place and six points.
The men tacked on two finals qualifications from
Makiyah Smallwood in the 60H (8.07) and
Dennis Mbuta in the 800m (1:51.90).
Isaac Harding was just narrowly edged out in the 5,000m, claiming the silver with a 13:48.36 finish, less than a second behind record-holder, Christian Noble. The men's DMR team of Mbuta,
Jackson Blanchard,
John Groendyk and
Caleb Futter gave the competition a run for their money as Futter posted a come-from-behind finish in the 1,600m leg with a second-place time of 9:46.69, just .01 off of Pittsburg State.
Senior
Justin Scavarda led the men from the field with a fifth-place shot put finish (17.95m) and sixth-place weight throw finish (19.74m) on Thursday.
Leon White (7
th; 19.59m) and
Hunter Harding (8
th; 19.45m) also scored in the weight throw, while
Myles Kerner added to the Laker tally in the shot put (8
th; 17.56m). Freshman
Eli Kosiba scored for the Lakers in his first NCAA postseason outing, earning 7
th in the high jump with a 2.06m clear.
"Our men had some really good results over the first two days and are in a great spot to challenge for a team trophy," said head coach
Jerry Baltes. "Our women were outstanding across the board and are in a great spot for Saturday finals. To cap the day with two NCAA Champions was incredible for
Elli Kimes and the DMR!"
The Lakers kick off Saturday's action with the men's 60H finals at 2:30 p.m. (CST). Follow on ncaa.com for live results and broadcast, or check social media @GVSUXCTF for live updates.
