CALEDONIA, Mich. – After Day 1 of the GLIAC Outdoor Championships, both Laker squads stand atop the leaderboard, with the women claiming 60 points and the men posting 98 points.  Action concludes tomorrow with the women's pole vault beginning at 11 a.m.
 
The women earned three first-place marks and a handful of other podium finishes.  On the track, Kayce Rypma (10:41.29; steeplechase) and Michelle Koetje (35:07.58; 10,000m) swept their respective events, while Judith Essemiah defeated the hammer throw field with a distance of 58.41m. 
 
Natalie Graber crossed the 3,000m steeplechase finish line in 11:04.71, collecting six points.  Also adding to the GVSU score was Lucy Karpukhno (3^rd; 36:32.87) and Lilah Parker (4^th; 37:11.35) in the 10,000m. 
 
Advancing to tomorrow's middle-distance finals are Taryn Chapko (2:14.56), Cameron Cleveland (2:17.03) and Sydney Nesbitt (2:17.83) in the 800m, and Allie Ludge (4:57.00), Sarah May (4:57.02) and Klaudia O'Malley (4:58.93) in the 1,500m run.  Lindsey Strutz (16.00) and Jessica Eby (1:01.86) earned spots in the 100H and 400H, respectively.  The 100m field will consist of Angelica Floyd (12.12), Marcedes Chandler (12.21; 25.10) and Ashley Perryman (12.21; 25.11), with the latter two competing in Friday's 200m as well.  Nicole Sreenan (55.86) and Analis Floyd (1:00.16) highlight the 400m finalists. 
 
In the field, freshman Strutz earned five points in the javelin with a launch of 33.80m, while Floyd collected the runner-up finish in the long jump with a 5.60m leap. 
 
The men posted a clean sweep in the 3,000m steeplechase, with Caleb Futter (9:00.86), Connor Schwartz (9:03.24) and Caleb Swart (9:21.27) hitting the top three spots.  The 10,000m saw Samuel Baustert earn the gold in 31:29,70, and Morgan McGrew (31:43.51) and Dawson Winters (32:01.66) finish in second and fourth places, respectively. 
 
Sprinters Calvin Hatcher (10.86; 21.80), Jalen Kyles (10.94; 22.15) and Antonio Passarelli (10.96; 22.35) will enter the starting blocks in tomorrow's 100m and 200m finals, while Jalen Hasan (49.94), Myles Rhodes (50.16) and Brendan Faulkner (50.03) punched their tickets to the 400m finals. 
 
Friday's 800m field will feature John Groendyk (1:52.49), Dennis Mbuta (1:53.70) and freshman Scott Spaanstra (1:53.71).  Representing the Lakers in the 1,500m finals are Isaac Harding (3:58.07), Tanner Chada (3:58.43) and Brendan Parr (3:58.45). 
 
Jacob Urban swept the javelin field with a toss of 56.71m, while hammer throwers Hunter Harding (2^nd; 61.61m) and Justin Scavarda (4^th; 60.71m) collected a total of 13 points.  GLIAC Indoor high jump champion, Eli Kosiba, cleared 1.99m, good for the bronze, while Ryan Mount and Cameron Graziosi finished fourth and fifth, respectively, with a 1.94m clear.  Chanse Setzke rounded out the Laker scoring with a fourth-place 6.80m hop in the long jump. 
 
The Lakers last swept the outdoor championships in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019.