ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Grand Valley State women's track and field team captured the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Runner-Up title with a total of 77 points, just narrowly trailing Azusa Pacific by four points. This is the Lakers' best finish since 2017, which saw the women capture the No. 2 spot as well.
GVSU earned three individual titles, coming from
Judith Essemiah,
Nicole Sreenan and the 4x100m relay team. The Lakers stood on the podium 12 times, including a pair of runner-up marks and a third-place stance.
Entering the final day, the women held the No. 2 spot with 32 points. After claiming the indoor 400m title earlier this season, Sreenan completed the sweep with the outdoor title coming in a new school record of 53.48 seconds. Also taking part in the 4x100m relay with
Ashley Perryman,
Marcedes Chandler and
Angelica Floyd, the Laker foursome broke the program and GVSU Track & Field Complex with a blazing time of 44.86, just .01 seconds ahead of Minnesota State.
Jessica Eby, Chandler,
Analis Floyd and Sreenan tacked on another four points with a clocked time of 3:44.26 in the 4x400m relay. Adding another couple points with a full lap on the track was Eby, this time coming in the 400H (59.85).
In her final competition as a Laker,
Allie Ludge earned the bronze 1,500m title with a time of 4:18.43, with
Klaudia O'Malley on her heels in a fourth-place finish of 4:19.42.
Hannah Roeske earned the 3,000m steeplechase runner-up title with a finish of 10:16.88 on Friday, followed by a fifth-place time of 16:13.95 in the 5,000m. Also scoring in the 5,000m was
Jessica Gockley (7
th; 16:17.71), who hit a fourth-place finish in the 10,000m after crossing the line in 34:11.53, while
Michelle Koetje clocked in at 35:49.46. Freshman
Taryn Chapko kept her All-American status alive in the 800m, with an eighth-place time of 2:08.96.
Judith Essemiah highlighted the hammer throw field with a distance of 62.62m to capture the National title, while senior
Elli Kimes earned the runner-up title in the pole vault with a 4.15m clear.
Emma Richards tallied two points with a seventh-place finish of 47.43m in the discus throw, while
Carly Livingston cleared 3.80m in the pole vault.
The most recent USTFCCCA National Rating Index saw the women rank as the No. 3 competitor, therefore boosting their reputation one spot at the end of scoring.
