Grand Valley State grabs another title

FINDLAY, Ohio – Grand Valley State won its 12th GLIAC indoor track and field championship in the last 13 years on Saturday as the 12th-ranked Lakers collected 150.50 team points to take the crown.

Head coach Jerry Baltes was named Co-GLIAC Men’s Track & Field Coach of the Year as his team outdistanced second-place Ashland (120) by 30.50 points.

Senior Xavier Parnell finished fourth in the final of the 60 meter dash with a time of 6.97 seconds in a race that was about as close as it can get. The top five finishers in the final were all within five-hundredths of a second of each other.

In the 200 meter dash final, sophomore Nathaniel Hammersmith garnered a fifth-place finish with a time of 22.38 seconds. Fellow sophomore Logan Hoffman finished sixth in the 400 meter dash final with a time of 49.64 seconds.

In the 800 meter final, sophomore Jeremy Wilk came home seventh with a time of 1:56.68 to earn points for the Lakers while two other GVSU student-athletes finished in the top 10. Sophomore Eric Phillips was ninth (1:57.04) while junior Scott McKeel finished 10th (1:57.28).

Senior Jeff Nordquist notched a second-place finish in the mile run with a time of 4:12.87, an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark. Sophomore Bryce Pulley wasn’t far behind, finishing fifth in the event with a time of 4:15.75.

The Lakers dominated the 3,000-meters, placing four runners in the top five. Senior Anthony Witt took home the title in the event with a time of 8:24.52, while fellow senior Ryan Toth came home third in a time of 8:27.00. Just behind him were sophomore Alan Peterson (8:30.93) and junior Jake Isaacson (8:34.23) in fourth and fifth, respectively.

In the 60 meter hurdle final, seniors Ryan Brown (8.38) and Rick Kwasnik (8.43) finished fifth and seventh, respectively.

The 4×400 meter relay team of Hammersmith, Parnell, Hoffman and sophomore Mohamed Mohamed finished in third with a provisional qualifying time of 3:19.01.

In the field events, freshman Trent Chappell hit a provisional-qualifying mark after clearing a height of 2.04 meters (6-8 1/4) in the high jump to finish third. The Lakers then wrapped up big points in the pole vault, placing three in the top six. Sophomore Bret Myers recorded a provisional mark after clearing a height of 4.94 meters (16-2 1/2) to finish second, while junior Raphael Gelo finished third with a height of 4.79 meters (15-8 1/2) with a provisional mark of his own. Senior Travis Fisher finished sixth in the event with a height of 4.49 meters (14-8 3/4).

Sophomore Steven Reives finished fifth in the triple jump with a distance of 13.83 meters (45-4 1/2) after he finished fifth in the men’s heptathlon earlier in the day, just barely missing a provisional qualifying mark with a point total of 4,568.

Senior Daniel Vanek finished second in the men’s shot put with an automatic qualifying mark of 18.59 meters (61-0), while junior Donny Stiffler finished fourth in the event with a throw of 17.10 meters (56-1 1/4), a provisional mark.