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Track & Field Set to Compete in the 2021 GLIAC Outdoor Championships

Track & Field Set to Compete in the 2021 GLIAC Outdoor Championships
May 05, 2021

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's and women's track and field teams will participate in the 2021 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday, May 6 and Friday, May 7. The conference championship meet will be held at the Farmers Insurance Athletic Conference in Caledonia, Mich. with Davenport University hosting the event. Thursday's events are scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. and Friday's competition will open at 11:00 a.m.

The Lakers have had a strong outdoor season with the majority of the team recording new personal records while multiple student-athletes have set new Lake Superior State school records. The team, led by head coach Rob Gallinger, will look to cap off the season with a strong showing at the GLIAC Championships. 

In the women's competition, the Lakers will be led by Elizabeth Setsuda who will be competing in three individual events (100 meter dash, long jump, triple jump). Setsuda has compiled a strong senior season for the Lakers as she has recorded personal records in all three events this year. At the Gina Relays hosted by Hillsdale College, Setsuda ran a 12.17 in the 100 meter dash to post the fastest time in her career and followed with a school record setting performance in the long jump (5.59 meters). Earlier in the month of April, Setsuda posted a personal best distance of 10.52 meters in the triple jump. Entering the championships, Setsuda holds the fifth best mark this season in the conference in both the triple jump and the long jump, and ranks ninth in the GLIAC in the 100 meter dash. 

The Lakers will also have Breanyl Baker competing in the 100 meter dash, who will look to build on a strong first-year of collegiate competition. Baker recorded a personal record time of 12.84 at the Gina Relays. In the women's 200 meter dash, two Lakers will be competing: Nadya Woodson and Gabrielle Minier. Woodson, a senior sprinter, ran a personal best time of 27.40 at the Gina Relays. Minier, a freshman sprinter, posted her best time of the season at the Al Owens Meet at GVSU with a mark of 28.08. 

In the longer distances on the women's side, the Lakers will be represented by seniors Emily Merten and Alexis Passino. Merten will compete in the 800 meter run and look to improve her outdoor personal best time of 2:47.79 that she recorded earlier this season. Passino will participate in the 800 meter race as well as the 1,500 meter run. The senior distance runner is primed for a strong meet as she has set new personal records in both races this season. Passino ran a time of 2:28.63 in the 800 meter race at the Blizzard Buster and a 5:00.42 mark in the 1,500 meter run at the Al Owens Meet. 

The women's team is also set for a solid performance in the field events with Setsuda and four other athletes representing the Lakers. 

Seniors Riley Collins and Ashley Mullings will both be competing in jumping events. Collins, a high jumper, has previously competed in the GLIAC Outdoor Championships in the event. Collins will look to cap off her successful collegiate career as she looks to surpass her personal record of 1.65 meters. Mullings, who will be competing in the long jump, also has participated in the event at the GLIAC Outdoor Championships in her career. The Kingston, Jamaica native will look to close out her collegiate career with a meet surpassing her personal best of 5.45 meters. 

Bethany Wilson and Jenna Fleming will partake in the throwing events for the Lakers. Wilson will partake in the javelin and the discus while Fleming will compete in the javelin event. Wilson, in her first collegiate season, set a new LSSU school record in the discus with a first-place finish 40.71 meter throw at the Gina Relays. Heading into the conference championship, Wilson holds the 10th best mark in the GLIAC this season. Wilson will also look to improve on her javelin personal best distance of 21.54 meters that she recorded at the GVSU Extra Weekend Meet. 

Fleming, a freshman javelin thrower, has an impressive first collegiate season as she holds the top mark in the GLIAC this season and is the only female athlete in the conference to post a provisionally qualifying mark this season. Fleming's best mark this season (45.16 meters) came in her first collegiate meet at the Blizzard Buster Meet. The freshman currently holds the 18th best mark in Division II this season.  She has surpassed the provisional qualifying mark (41.84m) in all five 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 five meets this season. 

The Lakers will also look forward to a solid showing from the men's team at the GLIAC Championships. 

In the sprint races, Dwayne Thompson will represent the team in the 100 meter dash while Riley Traver and Blake Dunning will compete in the 200 meter dash. Thompson currently holds the 15th best time in the 100 meter race this season with his personal best time of 11.01 seconds which he recorded last weekend at the GVSU Extra Weekend Meet. Traver also set a personal record at the Extra Weekend Meet at GVSU with a 22.83 mark in the 200 meter race. Dunning who will be running in the 200 meter dash for the first time this season will look to have a strong showing after dealing with injuries throughout the spring season. 

In the longer distances, Peter Shambaugh, Roy Bowman and David Mitter will be running for the Lakers. Shambaugh, a senior distance runner, will be competing in the 800 meter and 1,500 meter races. Shambaugh's season best in the 800 meter distance came at the Blizzard Buster with a time of 2:01.67 and he posted a personal record time in the 1,500 meter race with a mark of 4:08.45 this season at the Al Owens Meet. Bowman, a freshman distance runner, posted his best time of the season at the Al Owens Meet with a time of 4:11.47 in the 1,500 meter event. 

Mitter will run in the 5,000 meter event and is primed for a strong performance at the conference championships. Last weekend at the Extra Weekend Meet, Mitter recorded an LSSU record setting time of 14:13.38 in the 5K race. Earlier this season, Mitter surpassed Trevor McGinn's time of 14:45.04 from April 26, 2002, bested his previous record by over 25 seconds. Mitter's time from last weekend met the NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark of 14:32.33. Heading into the GLIAC Championship, Mitter ranks ninth among conference runners. 

Andrew Giddens will compete in the 110 meter hurdles race for the Lakers. Giddens posted a personal best time of 14.96 at the Extra Weekend Meet last weekend, setting him up for a strong showing at GLIACs.

In the field events, three Lakers will be competing for the men's squad. Three first-year athletes, Noah Murray, Elijah Denning, and Ryan Reiniche, will represent Lake Superior State. 

Murray, a pole vault and triple jump athlete, will look to cap off his first collegiate year with a solid meet at the conference championship. The freshman posted a personal record height of 4.17 meters in the pole vault at the Hillsdale Invitational and currently holds the 18th best mark in the GLIAC this season. In the triple jump, Murray set his personal record at the 2021 GLIAC Indoor Championships with a mark of 12.03 meters. Heading into the outdoor championships, Murray ranks ninth in the conference. 

Denning will also compete in the triple jump for the Lakers and sits eighth in the GLIAC this season. Denning's best mark of the season came at the Blizzard Buster meet when he registered a jump of 11.33 meters. 

Ryan Reiniche will represent the Lakers in the men's throwing events as he will partake in the shot put and discus. Reinche is coming off an impressive weekend at the Extra Weekend Meet at GVSU as he set personal records in both events. In the shot put, Reiniche posted a mark of 14.99 meters, his first throw over the 14-meter mark. The first-year thrower ranks 16th in the GLIAC in the shot put. In the discus, Reiniche recorded a throw of 43.87 meters to place first overall at the meet and enters the conference championship with the 17th best mark in the GLIAC this season. 

Full list of events and participants  

Women's Events & Participants

Men's Events & Participants

To visit the GLIAC Championship page, click here.

For a schedule of events, click here. For live results, click here.

For more information on Laker athletics, visit lssulakers.com

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