EMPORIA, Ks. – Grand Valley State began day one of the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a bang, with four men and four women finding a spot on the podium. Two men were crowned National Champion in their respective events, and one Laker was named men's National Runner-Up. After day one of competition, the men lead with 29 team points, and the women sit in fourth with 11.5
 
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The day began in explosive fashion as four throwers took the cage in men's hammer, three of whom notched personal-bests. Michael Griffey led the way, throwing for 69.87m (229-2) on his second attempt. The personal-best mark earned him the National Championship title, added 10 points to the GVSU men's score and ranks him No. 11 in NCAA history. Sebastian Tesch was next; on his final throw as a Laker, the graduate student threw for a whopping 69.50m (228-0) to earn his second All-America honor as the 2026 National Runner-Up in the event. Brandon Schirck, a sophomore, followed suit. On his second throw, he recorded a 65.60m (215-3) toss. The mark ranked him eighth to add another point to the men's score. Lucas Lesher rounded out the men's hammer quad with a 12th place finish, throwing for 62.13m (203-10) on his final attempt. The men added 19 points to the team score in hammer throw.
 
Women's pole vault was next up for GVSU. Brooke Bowers was the sole athlete representing GVSU in the event and did so in All-American fashion. The sophomore tied for seventh in the event, clearing 4.05m (13-3.5). The feat marks her fourth consecutive podium appearance at an NCAA Track and Field Championship.
 
Shelby Ulven took the cage next, representing Grand Valley State in women's hammer. In her final outing as a Laker, Ulven remained consistent and threw 60.71m (199-2) to place third in the event, adding six more points to the Laker Ladies tab. She closed out her collegiate career with five All-America honors.
 
A slew of preliminary events was next, and Grand Valley athletes found themselves advancing in three of them.
 
The first to advance was the men's 4x100m relay squad. Sam Mitas, Jason Hamilton II, Sam Coyle and Joshua Page combined for a finish at 40.11. The team ranked sixth overall, effectively moving them to Saturday's finals round.
 
Page hit the track again just moments later, racing in heat two of the men's 400m prelims. In true Joshua Page fashion, he rounded the track in a season-best 45.76 to shatter his own program record in the event. His finish, the best of the day by 0.23 seconds, qualified him for the finals on Saturday.
 
Four GVSU men took on the 3000m steeplechase next and all four advanced. Owen Westerkamp and Kyler Dean took on the first heat. Westerkamp finished third in the heat (fifth overall) at 8:54.36 to punch his ticket, while Dean crossed the finish line ninth overall at a personal-best 8:54.59 to advance. Flynn Pumpa and Noah Selvaraj took the starting line next. Pumpa also finished third in his heat (seventh overall) to move along and Selvaraj notched a personal-best 8:57.33 finish to become the last athlete advancing to tomorrow's finals.
 
Following the prelims, Alaina Diaz found the podium in women's long jump. The junior placed eighth, landing at 5.94m (19-6) on her first jump to add one point to the team score.
 
The first running finals of the weekend awaited GVSU: the men's and women's 10000m. Koby Fraaza and Conor Somers wore GV on their chests in the men's event. Fraaza put on a masterclass, cutting his 400m split from 1:15.27 on the first lap, to 1:12.56 at the 5200m mark, to an incredible 1:02.41 in his final jaunt around the track. With a finish at 29:20.92, Fraaza was named the individual National Champion for the first time in his career. Somers completed the 25 laps around the track in 30:36.00 to finish 19th overall at his first NCAA Outdoor Championships.
 
Ana Tucker, Abigail VanderKooi and Maggie O'Malley took the starting line for the Laker ladies in the 10000m. Tucker consistently ran an 81-83 second lap around the track, with a final lap around 79 seconds. The graduate student crossed the finish line at 34:32.93 to place sixth overall. VanderKooi and O'Malley were not far behind, completing the 25 laps ninth and 12th overall at 35:07.17 and 35:32.69, respectively.
 
Tomorrow's events include men's discus, high jump and 3000m steeplechase finals, as well as several preliminary events. Athletes will compete for a chance to advance in the 200m, 800m, 110m hurdles and 4x400m relay events. A list of who is competing when may be found at leonetiming.com.
 
Fans can watch the Lakers in action in person or online. Those wishing to watch their favorite athletes in person may purchase tickets online or in person at the Zola Witten Track at Francis G. Welch Stadium on the day of the event. Fans may also follow along via live results provided by LeoneTiming.
 
Be sure to follow @GVSUXCTF on Instagram and X and GVSU CC and TF on Facebook for photos, videos, results and more. A story recapping each day's events and team standings will be posted to gvsulakers.com following the conclusion of the day.