ALLENDALE, MICH. – The Grand Valley State track and field team hosted their first outdoor meet of the season in Allendale on Friday, March 5^th – the 6^th. The GVSU Early Meet 
Additionally, the Lakers' pole vault team competed at the Spartan Invitational on Friday, March 5^th.

Final Results – GVSU Early Meet
Final Results – Spartan Invitational 

The Lakers started their weekend in East Lansing on Friday, March 5th, where the pole vault crew competed at the Spartan Invitational. Wyatt Alwine tied for second place in the men's pole vault clearing a height of 4.97m. Max Rauch finished in fifth place with a new personal-best height of 4.97m and Dolan Gonzales in eighth place clearing a height of 4.67m. 

On the women's side, Taylor DeHommel finished in second place at a height of 4.05m, followed by Lily Renfrew in 15^thclearing a height of 3.40m. DeHommel now ranks fourth overall in Division II in the women's pole vault. 
In Allendale, Mich. day one for the GVSU Early Meet kicked off with four field events on Friday, March 5^th. 

The women's throws team took over in the hammer throw, claiming the Top 3 led by Shelby Ulven. Ulven threw a new personal-best of 58.71m as she earned first place overall followed by Alaina Omonode in second place with a personal-best of 56.90m and Natalia Pluff in third with a throw of 48.13m.

On the men's side, Shane Byrne finished in first place in the men's hammer throw with a distance of 61.42m. In the javelin, Grand Valley State claimed the Top 2 led by Preston Nichols. Nichols threw for a distance of 52.84m followed by Will Gaston with a throw of 48.88m. 

Day two of the GVSU Early Meet began with the women's discus throw, where Erika Beistle came back to record a new personal-best. Beistle finished in second place with a throw of 55.31m, approximately 2.29m better than her previous best. 

The Lakers went 1-4 in the women's shot put, with Mackenzie Bohrer taking home first place with a throw of 14.90m. Paige Westra finished in second place with a distance of 14.33m, Margaret Stevenson in third throwing 14.31m and Reette Thorns in fourth recording a distance of 13.19m. 

The women's pole vault crew finished with four Lakers in the Top 10, with Lily Renfrew finishing in second place clearing a height of 3.67m. Miranda Firari finished in fifth place with a height of 3.67m, Rileigh Lacy in ninth with a height of 3.37m and Kendyl Hahlen in 10^th clearing a height of 3.37m. 

On the men's side, Will Gaston recorded a new personal-best in the men's long jump just short of breaking the 7.00m mark with a distance of 6.97m, earning second place overall. Josh Fernando finish in sixth place with a jump of 6.48m. 

In the men's pole vault, the Lakers finished with five athletes in the Top 10. Colton Emeott led the men finishing in first place clearing a height of 4.93m, followed by Max Rauch in second with a height of 4.78m, Wyatt Alwine in third clearing 4.78m, Camryn Battjes in sixth a height of 4.48m and David Conrad in ninth at a height of 4.18m. 

On the track, the Laker men finished with four athletes in the Top 10 in the 5000m led by Colin Kachlic. Kachlic earned second place with a time of 14:47.54, followed by Zac Zemba in fourth with a time of 14:53.79, Sean Marquardt in eighth in a time of 15:10.22 and Justin Hoffman in 10^th recording a time of 15:16.14.

In the 1500m, Maria Widmann recorded a new personal-best time of 4:38.82 to earn fourth place overall. While Maggie O'Malley recorded her own personal-best time of 4:50.14 to finish in eighth place. 
On the men's side, Joe Rinke finished in ninth place in the 1500m recording a new personal-best time of 4:00.87. 

In the men's 3000m steeplechase, Ryan Mansour finished in third place with a time of 9:45.84.

The sprints crew dominated in the finals of the 100m and 110m hurdles, capturing first place on both the men's and women's side. Destini Dorkins finished in first place with a time of 14.86 followed by Kennedy Gardner in third with a new personal-best time of 16.10. 

For the men, Grand Valley finished with all three athletes in the Top 5 led by Joshua Hurt. Hurt finished in first place with a time of 14.73, followed by Mason Floria in third in a time of 15.27 and Lance Riddle in fifth recording a time of 15.64. 

Additionally, Riddle finished in fourth place in the 400m hurdles with a new personal-best time of 55.91. 

In the women's 100m, freshman Taylor Kyle took home first place with a time of 12.25 following shortly behind was Isabel Abdouch in third in a time of 12.46. Nicholas Walper and Andrew Pizzico finished back-to-back in the men's 100m, earning third and fourth place for Grand Valley. Walper recording a time of 10.90 and Pizzico a time of 10.92. 

In the men's 200m, Grand Valley State went 1-3 with all freshmen, led by Andrew Pizzico. Pizzico claimed his first ever victory as a Laker, running a new personal-best of 21.68. Dominick Balenda finished in second place with a time of 21.98 and Henry Kennedy in third in a time of 21.99. 

Up Next
The Lakers will split up this weekend as majority of the teams travels to California to compete within three meets and the remaining members will stay in Grand Rapids. In California, Grand Valley State will take on the Pacific Coast Invitational and Beach Invite in Long Beach, CA as well as the Bryan Clay Invite in Azusa, CA.