SAGINAW, MICH. – The Grand Valley State Lakers lead on both the men's and women's side after day one of the 2024 Indoor GLIAC Track and Field Championships. The Laker women sit in first place with a current team score of 77 points, followed by Wisconsin Parkside (27 pts) and Northern Michigan (18 pts). The men broke 100 points on day one only, sitting in first place with 102 points, followed by Saginaw Valley (30 pts) and Davenport (21 pts).
Grand Valley State swept the Top 3 in four events on Saturday, Feb. 24th, the women's 5000m, the women's weight throw, the men's weight throw and the men's pole vault. Additionally, the Lakers secured six titles out of 10 events on day one.
In the women's 5000m, Grand Valley State dominated the Top 5 as they claimed all five spots, led by Ana Tucker. Tucker took home her first GLIAC title as a Laker, recording a new GLIAC track record time of 16:20.86. Kayce Rympa finished in second place with a time of 16:30.92, Abby Vanderkooi in third in a time of 16:38.77, Allie Arnsman in fourth recording a time of 16:41.34 and Sarah May rounding out the Top 5 with a time of 17:08.36.
On the men's side, Koby Fraaza and Sam Martens finished back-to-back claiming first and second for the Laker men. Fraaza finished in a time of 14:22.76 followed by Martens with a time of 14:29.92.
Both the men's and women's DMR squads finished in second place, falling shortly behind Saginaw Valley State. The women's DMR consisting of Natalie Graber, Taryn Chapko, Klaudia O'Malley and Paige McAloon recorded a time of 11:41.10. While the men's DMR, Caleb Futter, Ben Ireland, Scott Spaanstra and Drennan Akins
In the field the Lakers proved dominant in the men's and women's weight throw, as both squads swept the Top 3 this afternoon. Alaina Omonode took home the crown for the women with a throw of 19.23m, followed by Shelby Ulven with a distance of 17.05m and Natalia Pluff with a throw of 15.39m.
For the men, Myles Kerner finished in first place just shy of new personal-best throw of 20.27m. James MacKey Jr. recorded a second place finish with a throw of 19.90m, followed by Shane Byrne with a distance of 18.69m.
In the sand pit, Chrisly Kelly-Cannon took home his first GLIAC title while recording a new personal-best jump in the men's long jump of 7.37m. Luke Jelderks finished in second place with a distance of 7.15m, followed by Caleb Taylor in fourth place with a jump of 6.81m. For the women, Alaina Diaz claimed second place in the long jump, recording a new personal-best jump of 5.69m.
The men's pole vault crew claimed the top four spots on Saturday, recording 29 points overall for Grand Valley. Colton Emeott led the way for the men, recording a first place finish and clearing the bar at 4.93m. Max Rauch came in second place clearing a height of 4.78m, followed by Wyatt Alwine in third with a height of 4.78m and James Nutt in fourth with a height of 4.78m.
The final day of the 2024 GLIAC Championships begins at 9:00 a.m. with the remaining heptathlon events, currently Mason Floria is in second place for the Lakers. The field events will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the men's and women's high jump, followed by the running events starting at 12:15 p.m.
Advancing to Tomorrow's Finals
Women's 60m Hurdles – Destini Dorkins
Men's 60m Hurdles - Steven Harris/Joshua Hurt/Ethan Smith
Women's 60m – Melia Williams
Men's 60m – Antonio Passarelli/Max Darling
Women's 400m – Ashtyn Gluck/Catherine Guckenberger/Isabel Abdouch
Men's 400m – Fallou Gaye/Zach Pray/Myles Rhodes
Women's 200m - Catherine Guckenberger/Kate Zang/Melia Williams
Men's 200m – Dominik Balenda/Henry Kennedy/Nicholas Walper
