CALEDONIA, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's and women's track and field teams closed out the 2021 season at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday, May 6 and Friday, May 7. The conference championship meet was hosted by Davenport University and took place at the Farmers Insurance Athletic Conference in Caledonia, Mich.
The women's team finished with 20 points, marking the program's highest total since the 2014 season when the team scored 25 points at the outdoor championship meet. The men's team finished with 19.5 points, marking the program's highest total since the 2017 season when the Lakers scored 23 points at the GLIAC Championships.
In the women's competition, the Lakers were led by freshman javelin thrower Jenna Fleming who recorded a first place finish with a throw of 43.85 meters. With the first place finish, Fleming secured 10 points for the Laker squad. In addition, Fleming became the first Laker female to record a first place finish at the outdoor GLIAC Championships since 2013 when Leslie Mitchell placed first overall in the women's 100 meter dash.
Fleming held the top mark in the javelin in the conference through the entire spring season as she was the only female athlete in the conference to post a provisional qualifying mark this season. The freshman's best mark of the season (45.16 meters) came in her first collegiate meet at the Blizzard Buster. Fleming currently holds the 18th best mark in Division II this season. She has surpassed the provisional qualifying mark (41.84m) in all six meets this season and has finished in first place in all but one meet this season. Earlier this year, Fleming set a new school record in the javelin and has recorded throws surpassing the prior school record in all six meets this season.
Elizabeth Setsuda finished her GLIAC career with a strong performance as she scored points in the triple jump and long jump while also advancing to the women's 100 meter dash final. Setsuda posted a fifth place finish in the triple jump with a personal record distance of 10.59 meters to clinch four points for the Lakers. Setsuda capped off the meet with a seventh place finish in the long jump with a distance of 5.35 meters to register two points. In the 100 meter dash final, Setsuda finished just out of scoring position in ninth place.
The women's team rounded out the meet with a fifth place finish in the 4x100 meter relay. Breanyl Baker, Nadya Woodson, Riley Collins, and Elizabeth Setsuda combined for a time of 50.42 seconds in the race to notch four points for the team.
Riley Collins, a high jumper, and Bethany Wilson, a discus thrower, both finished just shy of scoring in their respective events as they each placed ninth in the competition.
The men's competition was highlighted by a second place finish in the 5,000 meter race by David Mitter. Mitter posted a time of 14:38.08 to register eight points for the Lakers at the GLIAC Championships. The distance runner has bested the school record in the event on two different occasions this season, including at last weekend's Extra Weekend Meet. Mitter's time from last weekend met the NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark of 14:32.33 as he looks to qualify for the Division II Championships later this month.
Andrew Giddens had a strong race for the Lakers in the men's 110 meter hurdles event as he ran a time of 15.05 seconds to place seventh overall. With the top eight finish in the event, Giddens secured two points for the Lakers.
Freshman Noah Murray scored four points for the Lakers in the triple jump with a fifth place finish as he competed at the first outdoor GLIAC Championship of his collegiate career. With a jump of 12.80 meters, Murray shattered his previous career high in the event of 12.03 meters which came at the 2021 GLIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships. Prior to the conference championships, Murray had not recorded a mark past 12 meters in outdoor competition this season.
Murray added half a point (.5) for the Lakers in the pole vault event as he tied for eighth place among participants. Murray's height of 4.27 meters stands as a new personal record for the first year athlete.
The men's team's scoring was completed with a five point effort in the 4x100 meter relay. Riley Traver, Dwayne Thompson, Blake Dunning, and Andrew Giddens combined for a time of 42.93 seconds in the race as they placed fourth among competitors.
To visit the GLIAC Championship page, click here.
For final results, click here.
For more information on Laker athletics, visit lssulakers.com
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