ALLENDALE, Mich. - For the 26th consecutive year, Grand Valley State women's track and field has claimed the GLIAC Outdoor Championship title. The men won their eighth straight and 19th overall title. The women won with 245 points, leading Wayne State by nearly 100 points. The men led UW-Parkside by nearly 150 points. Through the three days of competition, the Lakers crowned three relay squads and 17 individuals.

 

Final Results

 

Of the 17 individual champions, 11 were crowned on the final day of competition. Sam Coyle updated his 100m PR with a finish at 10.46 and Gianni Harris crossed the finish line first in the 100m at 11.59. Joshua Hurt became the new No. 7 in NCAA Division II in the 110m hurdles with a personal-best 13.81 finish. The 200m saw Jason Hamilton II and Alaina Diaz take first; Hamilton crossed the finish line at 21.04 and Diaz became the new No. 18 in NCAA DII with a finish at 23.91.

 

The distance crew had four first place finishes on day two. Addison Washler took the crown in the women's 800m at 2:11.28. Sam Allen followed with personal-best time in the 800m, crossing the finish line at 1:48.67 to become the new No. 14 in NCAA DII and rank second in program history. Megan Postma won the 1500m at 4:34.09 and Owen Westerkamp won another conference title with a personal-best 14:23.53 finish in the 5000m.

 

The men's and women's 4x100m relays and the men's 4x400m relay all earned championship titles while the women's 4x400m team earned second. Aaron Gholston, Jason Hamilton II, Sam Coyle and Joshua Page combined for a finish at 40.40 to tie for seventh in program history and Catherine Guckenberger, Gianni Harris, Adalyn Liang and Alaina Diaz ran a 45.22 400m relay to earn the crown and rank fifth in GVSU history.

 

The men's 4x400m relay recorded a season-best finish in the event to win gold. Joshua Page, Ayden McCarey, Desmond Chapa and Demarcus Chapa completed the 1600m in 3:10.77 to become the new No. 17 in NCAA Division II.

 

Paige Westra and Garrett Weeden both threw personal-bests today to win gold. Westra tied her personal-best (15.25m / 50-0.5) shot put on attempt three, then proceeded to throw for a personal-best 15.42m (50-7.25) on her fifth to become the new No. 6 in NCAA DII. Weeden's personal-best throw in discus came on his fourth attempt; he threw for 51.06m (167-6) to lead the event and find the top spot on the podium.

 

Several Lakers found second or third place on the podium on day three. Mia Barnett placed second in the 100m hurdles, crossing the finish line at 14.11. The men's 110m hurdles were beyond impressive, as all five Lakers in the finals ran personal-bests to sweep first through fourth place and sixth, too. Dominic Downes crossed the finish line second at 13.88 (No. 10 NCAA DII), Parker Campbell placed third at 14.02 (No. 15 NCAA DII), Jackson Hayward crossed the finish line fourth at 14.25 (No. 33 NCAA DII) and Lance Riddle rounded out the Laker's lineup with a 14.41 (No. 48 NCAA DII) finish to place sixth.

 

The 200m and 400m had seven Lakers place in the top five of their respective events. In the 200m, Joshua Page finished second behind his teammate at 21.06 and Adalyn Liang finished fourth at 24.46. Madison Cooke (56.35) and Desmond Chapa (47.73) both placed second in the 400m, Demarcus Chapa earned bronze in the event at 47.98 and Ayden McCarey (48.61) and Aubrey Kopling (57.16) both placed fifth.

 

Lance Riddle (52.70) and Kate Aniolkowski placed second in the 400m hurdles, with Aniolkowski running a personal-best 1:01.53. Keira Zorski was just behind her teammate, crossing the finish line at a personal-best 1:01.67. Norah Galton found the final spot in the top five, running a personal-best time of 1:03.40.

 

The 800m, 1500m and 5000m had seven Lakers place second through five in their events. Colin MacGregor earned bronze with an 800m finish at 1:49.89 while Daisy Speet won runner-up in the event at 2:11.63. Colin Vanderschaaf and Noah Selvaraj crossed the finish line at nearly the same time to place third and fourth at 3:48.85 and 3:48.86, respectively. Flynn Pumpa ran a personal-best 5000m, crossing the finish line at 14:24.03 to place second. Annika Sandman placed second, too, crossing the finish line at 17:14.25.

 

Field events that had athletes place second through fifth were men's and women's shot put and men's and women's triple jump.

 

Gerald Capaccio placed second in men's shot put with a 16.65m (54-7.5) throw that came on his second attempt and Garrett Weeden just missed the podium in the event, throwing for 15.48m (50-9.5) to place fourth. Avery Lahti (14.31 / 46-11.5), Emily Stinson (13.62m / 44-8.25), Sofiabella Amirante (12.77m / 41-10.75) and Kennedy Jackson (12.46m / 40-10.5) took second, third, fifth and sixth in women's shot put to add a total of 21 points to the women's team score.

 

Prentice Gardner Jr. earned his first GLIAC medal today with a second-place finish in men's triple jump. The sophomore leapt for 13.86m (45-5.75) on his final attempt to earn silver. Mirra Fenlon, a freshman, placed fifth in the women's event with a personal-best mark of 10.86m (35-7.75).

 

In addition to podiums and personal-bests, Grand Valley State also won two awards. Owen Westerkamp was named Men's Track Athlete of the Meet for his championship-winning performances in the 3000m steeplechase and 5000m and the coaches, assistants and athletic trainers were awarded Men's Coaching Staff of the Year.

 

Although the GLIAC Championships may be over, Lakers will battle for national championship-qualifying marks next weekend as they compete at Last Chance meets across the country. Grand Valley State will also host the GVSU Last Chance Meet on Sunday, May 10. More information regarding who is competing where and when will be available on gvsulakers.com next week.