ALLENDALE, Mich. – GVSU closed out the regular indoor track and field season at home this evening with the GVSU Tune-Up. The Lakers also celebrated 43 senior athletes at the meet, honoring each individual and their accomplishments.
 
Sprints/Hurdles
60m Dash – Melia Williams and Jayla Graham competed in the 60m dash preliminaries and both moved on to the finals based on their top-nine qualifying times. Williams tied her personal-best 7.78 time, ranking her second in the event. Graham finished just behind Williams at 7.79 to rank third in the event.
 
Demarcus Chapa was the only competitor in the 60m dash. He advanced to the finals with a preliminary time of 7.07. In the finals, he finished third at 7.08.
 
60m Hurdles – Three Laker ladies advanced to the finals from the 60m hurdles preliminaries. In the finals, Brooke Barkocy finished first at 8.85. Destini Dorkins was next to cross the finish line at 8.94 for second place. Kennedy Gardner was the last of the Lakers, finishing fourth at 9.47.
 
Tayshawn Bester was the only athlete to compete in the men's 60m hurdles. Bester qualified for the finals with a second-place time of 8.53 – a new personal-best. He recorded another best in the finals, finishing second at 8.45.
 
200m – Melia Williams and Taylor Kyle placed second and third in the women's 200m with finishes at 25.25 and 25.50. The Laker men grabbed four of the top six spots, with Nick Walper taking second place at 21.93. Demarcus Chapa finished third at 22.24, Andrew Pizzico placed fourth at 22.28 and Elija Strong grabbed sixth at 22.58.
 
400m – Only two Lakers competed in the 400m event; both Lilly Alberts and Kate Aniolkowski ran in heat one. Alberts was crowned champion in the women's 400m with a 56.83 finish. Aniolkowski grabbed the final spot on the podium, crossing the finish line third at 59.88.
 
Mid-Distance/Distance
1 Mile – Jordyn Hopgood and Madelyn Frens kicked off the event in heat one of the mile. Hopgood finished first, crossing the finish line third at 5:05.79. Frens was just behind her teammate, finishing fourth at 5:08.69.
 
The men competed in two sections of the event. Sean Marquardt, Logan Tracia, Lleyton Axline and Ethan Parker started the day off with top 10 finishes and two personal-bests. Marquardt and Tracia finished first and second at personal-best times of 4:13.11 and 4:13.51. Axline and Parker were the next two to finish for GVSU, crossing the finish line eighth and ninth at 4:19.48 and 4:20.42.
 
In section one, the final event of the day, Caleb Futter was the first to finish at an impressive 4:02.36. Drennan Akins was the next to cross the line, finishing third at 4:10.14. Zac Zemba and Tyler Heath finished at 4:11.18 and 4:11.63; Colin Vanderschaaf and Bentley Alderson closed out the event at 4:15.85 and 4:16.56.
 
800m – Katrina Sandman was the only GVSU athlete to compete in the women's 800m. In her 800m debut, she finished fourth at 2:21.50.
 
Four men represented Grand Valley in the 800m. Quinton Bauer led the team with a fourth place 1:54.90 finish. Tanner Guczwa finished sixth, crossing the finish line at 1:55.61. Just behind him was Tinsae Nelson who recorded a 1:56.27 finish to place seventh in the event.  Freshman Adair Artis rounded out the top 10, ranking ninth with a second place 1:56.81 finish.
 
3000m – Shayna Altvater and Annika Sandman started the day strong in the 3000m, grabbing first and second in the event with times of 9:56.59 and 9:57.40. The men were next in line and grabbed four of the top 10 spots. Colin Hanson (8:26.00), Gabriel Connelly (8:26.47) and Conor Somers grabbed the four, five and six spots. Next to finish were Justin Hoffman (8:41.81) and Colin Kachlic (8:47.31), who placed eighth and 12^th. 
 
5000m – Only one heat of the men's 5k occurred at today's meet, and Sam Martens was the only competitor. He was the first Laker to cross the line, finishing second at 14:31.61.
 
4x400 Relays
Grand Valley's 4x400 squad of Catherine Guckenberger, Claire Neumann, Addison Washler and Alaina Diaz started the day strong, recording a 3:41.62 finish to go down as the third fastest group in GVSU history. Heat two of the women's 4x400 featured Melia Williams, Jayla Graham, Destini Dorkins and Taylor Kyle. They ranked third overall with a 4:09.77 finish. The only men's squad for the Lakers was comprised of Demarcus Chapa, Drew Pizzico, Elija Strong and Nick Walper. They ranked second overall, crossing the finish line at 3:24.82.
 
Pole Vault
The men's squad showed out, claiming four of the top five spots in the event. Colton Emeott led the squad with a first place 5.00m (16-4.75) mark. Dolan Gonzales and Camryn Battjes both cleared 4.90m (16-0.75) to grab second and fourth place. Wyatt Alwine rounded out the top five with a 4.80m (15-9) height.
 
Grand Valley's women shined in pole vault yet again. Brooke Bowers broke her previous personal-best that ranked her number four in GVSU history. Her 4.20m (13-9.25) mark ties her for the third best in program history. Ava Collier cleared 3.40m (11-1.75), Sydney Wilson cleared 3.20m (10-6) and Giuliana Serapiglia cleared 3.10m (10-2).
 
Jumps
High Jump – Just two Lakers competed in men's high jump, yet they grabbed the top two marks of the day. Braden Prielipp cleared a 2.04m (6-8.25) to win the event. Andrew Kraft grabbed second with a mark of 1.99m (6-6.25).
 
Grand Valley's women dominated high jump, taking the five best marks of the day and 10^th place. Kaylee Diamond led the event with a 1.73m (5-8) jump. Alexis Weber and Heidi Newhouse both cleared 1.64m (5-4.50) to take second and third place. Imogene Brumbaugh, Josie Bentz and Abby DenOuden all tied for fourth with a one-attempt 1.54m (5-0.5) mark. Ashley Atkins placed ninth and Lauren Rokos placed 10^th with jumps at 1.54m (5-0.5) and 1.49m (4-10.5).
 
Long Jump – Both men's and women's squads impressed in long jump, securing the top five and four spots in each event, respectively.
 
The marks of Luke Jelderks (7.24m (23-9)), Caleb Taylor (7.15m (23-5.5)), Dylan Lafontsee (7.09m (23-3.25)), Chrisly Kelly-Cannon (6.92m (22-8.5)) and Alec Crum (6.86m (22-6.25)) captured the top five spots in long jump. Another notable mark was Logan Ehlers' personal-best 5.97m (19-7) jump that ranked him 11^th.
 
Two personal-bests were recorded on the women's side. Alaina Diaz updated her number two all-time record with a 6.02m (19-9) jump to win the event. Nyla Reed grabbed second with a 5.54m (18-2.25) jump, also updating her mark in GVSU's record book. Zoe Zeiser and Grace Moeggenborg rounded out the top four with 5.40m (17-8.75) and 5.22m (17-1.5) marks. Gloria Stepanovich placed eighth with a 4.88m (16-0.25) mark.
 
Triple Jump – As always, Nolyn Johnson III was the sole triple jumper for GVSU. The freshman not only took first in the event, but his personal-best 14.09m (46-2.75) mark granted him sole possession of the number eight spot in GVSU history.
 
Throws
Shot Put – All three men who competed in the event placed in the top five. Andrew Berryhill led the squad with a personal-best 16.68m (54-8.75) mark, ranking second. Nathan Spitzley and Gerald Capaccio placed fourth and fifth with marks at 15.94m (52-3.75) and 15.82m (51-11) respectively.
 
Mackenzie Bohrer, Kennedy Jackson and Maggie Stevenson competed in shot put. Bohrer recorded a third-place 14.51m (48-6) mark, Jackson placed 10^th with a 12.47m (40-11) throw and Stevenson recorded a 10.26m (33-8) throw that placed her 14^th.
 
Weight Throw – Shelby Ulven, Alaina Omonode, Natalia Pluff and Sophia Snellenberger competed in weight throw for the Laker ladies. Ulven was the star of women's weight throw yet again, shattering her previous personal-best and recording a 19.37m (63-6.75) throw to place second in the event. Omonode was the next best, grabbing the number four spot with an 18.23m (59-9.75) throw. Pluff and Snellenberger placed 14^th and 15^th with marks of 15.07m (49-5.5) and 14.90m (48-10.75).
 
James MacKey Jr. and Lucas Lesher were the only two to compete in men's weight throw. MacKey Jr. placed second with a 19.50m (63-11.75) mark. Lesher recorded a 17.86m (58-7.25) throw, placing ninth.
 
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Grand Valley State track and field will compete at the GLIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships next Saturday, March 1 through Sunday, March 2. The event is hosted by Saginaw Valley State University. More information will be released in the coming days.