HILLSDALE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's and women's track and field teams combined for an impressive showing at the 54th Annual Gina Relays hosted by Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Mich. on Thursday, April 22, Friday, April 23 and Saturday, April 24. The weekend was highlighted by numerous school and personal records being broken by the Laker squad. 

The Gina Relays hosted athletes from 46 colleges as well as a number of elite sponsored and amatuer athletes competing unattached in the three-day meet.  

Running Events

The Lakers had a strong presence in the women's 100 meter dash with four athletes placing 14th or higher in the event among 21 participants. Elizabeth Setsuda, who had an excellent weekend for the Lakers, finished in fourth place with a time of 12.17. Breanyl Baker placed 11th in the sprint with a time of 12.84, a new personal best. Freshman Gabrielle Minier ran the distance for the first time collegiately and finished with a time of 13.3 while senior Nadya Woodson finished one spot behind Minier in 14th with a personal record time of 13.31.

Woodson followed with a second personal record at the Gina Relays as she posted a time of 27.40 in the 200 meter dash to finish 18th among the 31 runners. Katie Woodruff, a freshman sprinter, posted personal collegiate bests in the 200 meter (29.85) and 400 meter (1:12.81) distances. 

In the longer distances, Caitlyn Schumann recorded a personal best time of 2:49.48 in the women's 800 meter race. 

In the men's 100 meter dash, four of the five Laker sprinters competing in the race would record new personal records. Blake Dunning (11.63), Riley Nichols (11.64), Elijah Denning (11.85) and Nikolas Curlett (12.29) all set new personal bests.

Eric Somsky posted a time of 57.40 in the 400 meter run to record a new personal record. In the 800 meter distance, both Laker participants set new personal records. Freshman Roy Bowman finished in 21st place among 43 runners with a time of 2:01.9 while classmate Aaron Nachazel's time of 2:08.08 also stood as a personal best. 

In the 1,500 meter distance, freshman Ryan O'Neill had a strong race for the Lakers as he finished 14th among 29 runners with a personal best time of 4:16.41. In the 5,000 meter open race that took place on Thursday night, freshman Ethan Nachazel improved upon his previous personal best by over 11 seconds with a time of 16:15.02 in the event. 

David Mitter competed in the men's 10,000 meter championship race on Friday night and placed seventh among the 20 runners taking part in the distance race. Mitter's time of 30:33.21 stands as a NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark and is the 47th fastest time in Division II this season in the 10k. The time stands as Mitter's personal best in the event in track and field competition.

Field Events

In the field events, the Lakers had a stellar meet as a number of new school records were set in the women's competition. 

Setsuda recorded a first place finish in the long jump competition among the 17 participants with a distance of 5.59 meters, which stands as a new LSSU school record in women's outdoor track & field as well as a new personal record. Setsuda bested the previous record of 5.54 meters, which was set by Kristin Peddle on May 10, 2002.

In the discus event, Bethany Wilson, who is in her first outdoor season with the Lakers, placed first among the 18 athletes competing in the event. Wilson threw the discus a distance of 40.71 meters which stands a new personal record as well as a new Lake Superior State track & field record. The previous record of 40.36 meters belonged to Megan Cowan who set the record on May 11, 2005.

Jenna Fleming, a freshman javelin thrower for the Lakers, recorded the team's third first place finish in an event at the Gina Relays with a mark of 42.90 meters in the javelin competition. For the fourth time this season, Fleming has surpassed the NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark (41.84 meters). Earlier this year, Fleming set a new school record in the javelin and has recorded throws surpassing the prior school record in all four meets this season. 

Brittney Ryan, a thrower for the Lakers, recorded a 10th place finish in the discus throw as she recorded a new personal record distance of 31.50 meters. Wilson would also record a personal best in the javelin event with a throw of 20.53 meters. 

Ryan Reiniche, a first year thrower on the men's team, would also record a first place finish at the Gina Relays for the Lakers as he posted a first place finish in the discus competition. Reiniche set a new personal record in the event with a distance of 43.85 meters for the top mark among the 18 participants in the event. 

Looking Ahead

The Lakers will travel to Allendale, Mich. next weekend to compete in the GVSU Invite on Friday, April 30 and Saturday, May 1. The two-day meet will be the team's final competition before the 2021 GLIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. 

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