ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Grand Valley State men's and women's track and field teams are in first at the end of day one at the GLIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The men's team has taken a commanding lead scoring a total of 81 points, in second place is Northwood with 35 points and Davenport in third with 32 points.  The women's team is in first with 58 points, followed by Saginaw Valley with 49 points and Davenport in third with 31 points. 

The men's pole team swept the competition finishing first, second, and third as Max Rauch took the crown with a personal-best height of 4.67m. Jacob Krutsch and Wyatt Alwine cleared the bar at 4.45m to claim their spot on the podium. Krutsch placed second by clearing the bar on his first attempt, Wyatt cleared on his second attempt. 

"From start to finish we had a lot of great performances", said head coach Jerry Baltes. "Our team showed a tremendous amount of depth with our fourth, fifth, and sixth years as well as our younger athletes making their way into the finals tomorrow and having the opportunity to score some points for the team. The last four races of the night (5k and DMR) were outstanding with Jessica pacing the 5k solo and clocking in a great time. The men's DMR team was at risk of being knocked out of Nationals before today's meet and needed to come out strong and get things done. Harding got the baton and split a 4:01.4 on the end to put us into a spot for Nationals." 

The Lakers' distance squads went out on a mission today claiming first in the men's and women's distance medley relay. The men's team was in a race of its own finishing nearly 15 seconds faster than second-place with a time of 9:40.86. The men's team of Caleb Futter, Myles Rhodes, Jonathon Groendyk, and Isaac Harding are now ranked fifth in the Nation going into Nationals. The women's team made up of Klaudia O'Malley, Taryn Chapko, Molly McLaughlin, and Allie Ludge put out the sixth fastest time this season in DII finishing first at the GLIAC Indoor Championships with a time of 11:36.49. 

In the 5000m, the Laker men and women both placed first and second. Jessica Gockley made her name onto the NCAA DII qualifying list finishing first with the fifth fastest time in the Nation, 16:29.42. Kayce Rypma took second with a personal-best time of 16:48.06. Enael Woldemichael crossed the finish line first on the men's side with a time of 14:25.61, followed by Sam Martens in second with a time of 14:27.20. 

In the throw events, Judith Essemiah won her second consecutive GLIAC Indoor Championships in the weight throw event. Essemiah finished first with a distance of 20.08m. Hunter Harding finished third for the men's team with a distance of 19.74m. 

Jumping his way into first-place, Chanse Setzke won the men's long jump with a distance of 6.94m. Lindsey Strutz posted a personal-best score of 3361 points in the women's pentathlon. Strutz tied for first in the high jump, finished first in shot put, second in the 800m, and fourth in the 60m hurdles and long jump. 

Day Two of the GLIAC Indoor Championships will begin at 9:00 a.m. with the continuation of the men's heptathlon. 

Qualifying to Compete in Tomorrow's Finals for the Lakers will be: 
Women's 60m Hurdles - Final
Corrina Courser
Brooke Barkocky 

Men's 60m Hurdles - Final 
Makiyah Smallwood
Jackson Blanchard 

Women's 60m Dash - Final 
Ashley Perryman
Melia Williams 

Men's 60m Dash - Final 
Max Darling 
Brandon Miller 

Women's 200m Dash - Final 
Ashley Perryman 
Melia Williams 

Men's 200m Dash - Final 
Brandon Miller **(Qualified in the Prelims with a school-record time of 21.42)**
Caelon Harkey 
Max Darling 

Women's 400m Dash - Final 
Isabel Abdouch
Deji'ona Simpson

Men's 400m Dash - Final 
Caelon Harkey
Jackson Blanchard
Myles Rhodes