ALLENDALE, Mich. – Grand Valley State's track and field squads closed out their third meet of the season at home with the annual Bill Clinger Classic. Fourteen event titles were earned, 31 NCAA DII Indoor Provisional Standards were met or exceeded and countless personal-bests were recorded.
 
Throws
Shot Put – Myles Kerner, Andrew Berryhill and Gerald Capaccio represented Grand Valley in shot put, grabbing the 1, 2 and 3 spots in the invite. Kerner threw for an impressive 19.32m (63-4.75) to earn the one spot. Berryhill and Capaccio, both freshmen, threw for personal-best distances of 15.95m (52-4) and 15.67m (51-5), respectively.
 
Erika Beistle stole the show in women's shot put, shattering Grand Valley's indoor track and field record with a 17.20m (56-5.25) throw. The personal-best unsurprisingly earned her first place in the invite. Mackenzie Bohrer was the next Laker to shine, grabbing second place with a 14.71m (48-3.25) throw. Kennedy Jackson and Margaret Stevenson placed sixth and eighth with distances of 12.52m (41-1) and 11.91m (39-1).
 
Weight Throw – Three men represented GVSU in weight throw. James MacKey Jr. led the team and invite with a 20.48m (67-2.25) throw. Michael Griffey was close behind, throwing for a second-place distance of 18.36m (60-3). Lucas Lesher was the last Laker; he threw 16.34m (53-7.50), placing fifth.
 
Shelby Ulven and Alaina Omonode took the top two spots in the women's weight throw invite. Ullven grabbed gold for the third consecutive meet with an 18.93m (62-1.25) distance. Omonode placed second at 18.45m (60-6.5). Kennedy Jackson and Natalia Pluff also competed in the invite, throwing fifth and ninth place distances of 16.40m (53-9.75) and 14.76m (48-5.25). Two Laker ladies competed in the open. Sophia Snellenberger threw 15.17m (49-9.25), placing third. Alexandra DiCanio grabbed fourth with a 15.12m (49-7.25) distance.
 
Pole Vault
Grand Valley's men dominated in pole vault, claiming seven of the top 11 spots. Dolan Gonzales (5.06m (16-7.25)), Wyatt Alwine (4.96m (16-3.25)) and Colton Emeott (4.81m (15-9.25)) claimed the top three spots in the event. Camryn Battjes followed with a fifth place 4.66m (15-3.50). Ray Weatherington and Ryan Eck both tied for eighth (4.36m (14-3.50)) and David Conrad grabbed 11^th, clearing 4.06m (13-3.75).
 
All four women who competed in pole vault placed in the top 10. In the high pit, Brooke Bowers led the squad with a second-place, 3.97m (13-0.25) height. Ava Collier and Miranda Firari placed sixth and seventh, both clearing 3.52m (11-6.5). In the low pit, Sydney Wilson cleared a fourth-place 3.07m (10-0.75).
 
Jumps
High Jump – Three of the Lakers on the men's squad recorded qualifying marks for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Eli Kosiba, who tied the NCAA DII indoor high jump record in December (2.30m / 7-6), easily cleared 2.20m (7-2.50). Jaivon Harrison was also able to clear the 2.20m mark, doing so for the first time this season. Jonathan "JayJay" Rankins-James ranked third overall with a 2.14m (7-0.25) clearance.
 
Five of Grand Valley's women competed in the high jump, taking the 1-2-3 spots in the event. Kaylee Diamond led the squad (and event) with a 1.72m (5-7.75) height. Heidi Newhouse was close behind, marking 1.63m (5-4.25). Imogene Brumbaugh ranked third with a 1.58m (5-2.25) jump.
 
Long Jump – Five of the Laker guys claimed top 10 spots in the long jump. Chrisly Kelly-Cannon led the event with a 7.24m (23-9) jump. Peter VanHulle, a freshman, jumped for a new personal-best 6.62m (21-8.75), placing ninth.
 
Three of the lady Lakers set new personal-best jumps this evening. Alaina Diaz recorded a 5.99m (19-8) jump and moved up to number two in GVSU's Top 10 All-Time Indoor Record Book. Kaitlyn Molnar, who claimed second place, cleared a personal-best 5.69m (18-8) long jump. Nyla Reed also recorded a PR, jumping for 5.52m (18-1.5) and ranking fourth.
 
Triple Jump – Once again, Nolyn Johnson III was Grand Valley's sole competitor in triple jump. It took him three attempts to land 13.56m (44-6).
 
Sprints & Hurdles
60m Dash – Two Lakers from the men's squad qualified for the 60m dash finals; the top nine finishers in the preliminary event advance to the finals. Michael McNeil and Jacody Sikora finished fourth and seventh, crossing the line at 6.89 and 6.99, respectively
 
Taylor Kyle, Jayla Graham and Melia Williams advanced to the finals for the Lakers. Kyle's 7.67 finish landed her the top spot. Just behind Kyle was Graham, who finished second at 7.70. Williams crossed the finish line at 7.86, finishing fourth.
 
60m Hurdles – Dominic Downes, Joshua Hurt and Ethan Smith claimed spots in the 60m hurdles finals based on their performances in the prelims. Downes claimed gold, crossing the finish line first at 8.08. The next finisher was Hurt, who recorded an 8.11 finish. Smith finished fifth at 8.27.
 
Four of the Laker ladies advanced to the finals for the event. Brooke Barkocy not only broke her personal-best (by 0.01), but she also led the team with a second-place, 8.80 finish. Destini Dorkins was the next Laker to cross the finish line, placing fifth at 9.18. Hannah Hollister and Kennedy Gardner grabbed the seventh and eighth spots at 9.34 and 9.56. 
 
200m – Two top 10 spots were claimed by the Lakers in the 200m event. Michael McNeil grabbed second with a 21.67 finish and Nicolas Walper claimed 10^th at 22.24.
 
Four women grabbed top 10 spots for Grand Valley. Alaina Diaz shined, recording a first-place, personal-best, 24.69 finish that put her at number four in GVSU's record book. Jayla Graham finished fourth at 25.20 – another personal-best. Melia Williams and Taylor Kyle also added new PR's to their résumés, finishing sixth and seventh at 25.38 and 25.57.
 
400m – Zach Pray and Desmond Chapa led the Laker men in the 400m. Pray recorded a 48.36 finish, ranking third overall. Chapa crossed the finish line seventh overall at 49.13. 
 
The Laker ladies showed out in the 400m. Claire Neumann and Catherine Guckenberger took the top two spots. Neumann recorded a new personal-best and moved into the number 10 spot in GVSU's record book with a 56.37 mark. Guckenberger broke her previous record by nearly two seconds, crossing the finish line at 57.31. Ashtyn Gluck ran a personal-best 58.88 time, ranking her 11^th in the event. Freshman Kate Aniolkowski also recorded a new PR, shaving 0.44 seconds off her previous time to finish at 1:00.03.
 
Mid-Distance/Distance
600m – Colin Vanderschaaf, Logan Tracia and Lleyton Axline competed in the 600m. Vanderschaaf led the squad with a 1:25.34 finish, ranking eighth overall. Tracia and Axline were close behind in time. Tracia ranked 11^th with a 1:29.78 finish and Axline's 1:29.98 finish ranked him 12^th.
 
Addison Washler was the only Laker to see action in the women's 600m. However, she shined; she crossed the finish line first at an impressive 1:33.00.
 
800m – Seven men ran in the 800m across three heats for GVSU. Caleb Futter ranked first overall with a 1:50.25 finish, putting him at number four in GVSU's record book. Freshman Samuel Allen was just behind Futter, finishing second (in heat one and overall) at 1:50.53. Both qualified for the National Championships with their times.
 
Megan Postma was GVSU's sole competitor in the women's 800m. She finished second at 14.54.
 
1 Mile – Thirteen men competed for the Lakers in the 1 mile. Owen Westerkamp, Koby Fraaza, Báhozhóni Church, Conor Somers, Tyler Heath and Colin Vanderschaaf all recorded top 10 finished. Westerkamp and Fraaza finished second and third at 4:04.72 and 4:06.94. They not only qualified for national competition with their finishes, but both earned spots in GVSU's record book (Westerkamp: No. 6 all time; Fraaza: No. 8 all time). Church finished fifth at a personal-best 4:09.67. Somers, Heath and Vanderschaaf took the seven, eight and nine spots with personal-bests of their own.
 
The Laker ladies also showed out in the 1 mile; all five women placed in the top 10. Senior Natalie Graber finished second (4:44.07) overall. Lauren Kiley followed close behind, finishing third at 4:46.33, which landed her the number seven spot in GVSU's record book. Maria Mitchell finished alongside Kiley, grabbing fourth at 4:46.42 to break her own PR and maintain her number eight spot in the record books. Landyn Howell and Jordyn Hopgood finished ninth and 10^th at 5:04.21 and 5:05.02.
 
3000m – The men's 3000m saw Lakers claim six of the top 10 spots. Samuel Martens, who finished third overall, ran a 8:21.45 time, just ahead of Andre Richmond who finished fourth at 8:21.56. Nathan Riddering (8:23.28), John Nice (8:24.34), Gabriel Connelly (8:24.84) and Bentley Alderson (8:25.31) took the six through nine spots overall.
 
Four women competed in the 3000m, all finishing in the top 10. Cara Newman was able to qualify for national competition with her second-place, 9:52.72 finish. Maria Widmann (9:56.04), Annika Sandman (10:02.19) and Shayna Altvater (10:03.19) finished fourth through sixth with new personal-best times of their own.
 
Relay Squads
Twelve Lakers competed in the men's and women's 4x400 relay races. Grand Valley's men's "B Squad" (Scott Spaanstra, Sam Allen, Patrick Lyell, Caleb Futter) captured first place in heat two and ranked fifth overall with a 3:23.29 finish. The "A Squad" (Tinsae Nelson, Quinton Bauer, Adair Artis, Tayshawn Bester) grabbed 10^thoverall with a 3:29.52 finish.

Brooke Barkocy, Addison Washler, Kennedy Gardner and Destini Dorkins represented the lady Lakers well with a 4:04.02 finish, ranking seventh overall.
 
--
 
The Lakers are back in action next week as they compete at various meets in Indiana and Kentucky. They return home for the Mike Lints Alumni Meet on Saturday, February 8. The meet will take place at the Kelly Family Sports Center with events beginning at 1 p.m. More information will be distributed as the event approaches.