ALLENDALE, Mich. – Grand Valley State track and field officially closed out the regular season this evening at the GVSU Last Chance Meet. From Wednesday through Sunday, Lakers competed in five meets across the country, recording their final marks before the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Hillsdale College Last Chance – Results
Len Paddock Open – Results
St. Francis Fighting Chance Invite – Results
APU Franson Last Chance – Results
GVSU Last Chance Meet – Results
 
The busy weekend began on Wednesday as the No. 2 ranked men and No. 3 ranked women took on the Hillsdale College Last Chance Meet. Jackson Hayward ran a personal-best time in the 110m hurdles, flying through the race in 13.95. The finish ranks him fifth in program history and 15th in NCAA DII at the time of competition. The men's 4x400m squad (Aydan McCarey, Demarcus Chapa, Desmond Chapa, Joshua Page) ran a season-best 3:10.16, ranking fourth in program history and 22nd in NCAA DII at the time of competition.
 
Friday's meets included the Len Paddock Open (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and the St. Francis Fighting Chance Invite (Joliet, Ill.).
 
In Ann Arbor, Alaina Diaz added a third program record to her name, this time in the women's 200m. Rounding the track in just 23.86, Diaz became the fastest woman in Laker history to run the event, outracing Angie Ritter's 2017 23.87 finish. Dolan Gonzales soared to new heights in pole vault, clearing a personal-best 5.31m (17-5). The bar ranks him second in program history and placed him at No. 6 at the time of competition (No. 7 at time of publication).
 
The St. Francis Fighting Chance saw Kyler Dean race a personal-best 3000m steeplechase, finishing first in the event, while Drennan Akins and John Nice placed second in their events. Dean crossed the finish line first at 9:07.63 and Akins earned silver in the steeplechase at 9:12.28. Nice raced in the 10000m and placed second at 30:39.81.
 
The weekend ended on Sunday evening as Grand Valley State hosted the Last Chance Meet. Several Lakers executed tonight, improving their championship-qualifying marks. 
 
Sam Paeth was the first to improve his mark. The true freshman took just four attempts to double-PR, clearing a personal-best bar of 5.28 (17-3.75). The mark moves him to ninth in NCAA DII and ranks him fourth in program history.
 
Men's and women's throws showed out with several season and personal bests of their own, as well.
 
Shelby Ulven moved to No. 6 in NCAA DII with a 61.20m (200-9) season-best throw in hammer, while Emily Stinson notched a personal-best 54.73m (179-6) in the event. In men's shot put, Andrew Berryhill threw a massive 18.12m (59-5.5) personal-best, moving to No. 9 in Division II and ranking seventh in program history. Jerry Capaccio moved up to No. 25 in division rankings with a season-best 17.32m (56-10) and freshman James Leiter threw for a personal-best 17.09m (56-1) to rank 30th in DII. Men's discus rounded out the personal-best marks for throws. Garrett Weeden led the way with a 52.62m (172-7) throw, ranking No. 27 in DII. Freshmen Bennett Vandenberg and Leiter became the new No. 35 and No. 56 with throws of 51.63m (169-4) and 50.06m (164-3), respectively.
 
Marcus Gelpi was the final field athlete to improve his mark this evening and did so with a bang. Gelpi became the new No. 2 in NCAA DII with a high jump mark of 2.19m (7-2.25), taking just four attempts to notch a new best mark. The bar ranks him fourth in program history.
 
Propelled by the musical stylings of DJ Ali Baltes, two individuals and two relay squads found personal-best times on the track.
 
The men's 4x100m relay squad was the first to finish faster than before. Sam Mitas, Jason Hamilton II, Sam Coyle and Joshua Page combined for a finish at 40.04 in the event, ranking them third in program history and No. 14 in Division II (when excluding B/C relay squads).
 
Lance Riddle was next, shaving off 0.06 seconds in the 400m hurdles for a personal-best finish. Crossing the finish line at 52.05, Riddle closed out his collegiate career ranked No. 27 in NCAA Division II and seventh in program history.
 
Just two days after a 10-second personal best in the 3000m steeplechase, Kyler Dean did it again this evening. The redshirt-junior flew through the race, leaping over hurdles and dipping into the pit, in just 8:57.10. His new 10-second PR (previously 9:07.63 from Friday's race) ranks him No. 16 in NCAA DII and sixth in program history. For the first time in his career, Dean is headed to the National Championships.
 
The men's 4x400m relay squad rounded out the day with an extremely fast finish in the event. Aydan McCarey, Demarcus Chapa, Desmond Chapa and Joshua Page ran the 1600m race in just 3:08.31, with Page closing it out in less than 45 seconds. The mark ranks them No. 2 all-time and seventh in Division II (when excluding B relay squads).
 
Although they did not punch their ticket to the national championships, two Lakers had a season-best day in Allendale. Peter Van Hulle jumped for 7.05m (23-1.75) in long jump and Colin Vanderschaaf crossed the 800m finish line at 1:53.91.
 
While they prepare for the 2026 NCAA DII Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Grand Valley State will await the announcement of sections. The final field will be revealed on Tuesday, May 12 via a press release on NCAA.com. Qualifying marks from the Thursday, Feb. 19, to Sunday, May 10.
 
The championships will be hosted by Emporia State University (Emporia, Ks.) from Thursday, May 21, to Saturday, May 23. More information will be available at gvsulakers.com soon.