ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's and women's track and field teams competed at Grand Valley State University's Tune-Up on Friday, Feb. 18 in Allendale, Mich. The Tune-Up marks the team's final meet before next weekend's conference championship.
With the majority of the team competing at the meet, the Lakers had a solid showing at the competition. A number of student-athletes set new personal records at the meet while a few Lakers recorded second place finishes.
"Our men and women were able to build tremendous momentum leading into the conference championship," said head coach Tony Filipek. "I couldn't be more proud of how the team has stepped up and came together in the midst of a coaching change mid year. They have adapted well and are focused on bringing everything they have into the GLIAC Meet back at GVSU next week."
In the women's 60 meter dash, the Lakers were represented by freshman Jayda Williams who crossed the finish line second in the prelims with a time of 8.15 to qualify for the finals. Williams placed third overall in the event with a time of 8.09 seconds in the 60 meter dash finals.
Junior Breanyl Baker set a new PR in the 200 meter dash with a time of 27.50 to finish seventh among all participants. Freshman Kara Mosher also set a PR in the 400 meter race with a time of 1:11.95 as she competed in the event for the first time collegiately.
In the women's 800 meter event, the Lakers were represented by a pair of freshmen who both competed in the distance for the first time. Sofia Salazar set a new PR with a time of 2:36.51 while Sydney Kapushinski recorded a time of 2:38.39 in her debut.
In the men's 800 meter race, all three Laker athletes set new PRs in the distance. Sophomore Michael Sherman (2:07.55) crossed the finish line first among his teammates in his first time competing in the event while Aaron Nachazel (2:07.97) and Eric Somsky (2:16.72) followed with personal collegiate-best times.
Senior David Mitter paced the Lakers in the mile run with a career-best time of 4:12.32 in the distance as he shaved over five seconds off his previous PR. Mitter placed second among the 30 participants in the event as he heads into the conference championship ranking eighth in the GLIAC in the distance. The six other Lakers that ran in the event each set new PRs as well. Ryan O'Neill bested his previous PR by over two seconds as he crossed the finish line at 4:32.06. Bowman took an impressive eight seconds off his PR as he placed 13th in the race with a time of 4:29.5. Kendal Delpiere (4:47.34), Skylar Williams (4:52.25), Reese Camp (4:52.57), and Riley Sponseller (5:02.28) rounded out the Laker finishers in the mile race.
The men's team competed in the 4x400 meter relay event and combined for a season-best time of 3:33.65. The Lakers relay team was made up of Andrew Giddens, Michael Sherman, Michael Rand and Ryan O'Neill.
Williams and Baker combined for a pair of top-four finishes out of 13 competitors in the women's long jump event. Williams placed second in the event with a distance of 5.21 meters while Baker placed fourth with a mark of 4.77 meters.
Williams' strong performance at the Tune-Up was capped off by a second place finish in the triple jump. The Claxton Bay, Trinidad native recorded a distance of 10.39 meters in the event.
In the women's pole vault, Mosher cleared 2.64 meters in the event to set a new PR.
In the men's high jump, both Lakers set PRs as Riley Traver placed fourth after clearing 1.78 meters while Noah Murray followed with a six place finish (1.73m). Murray posted a fourth place finish in the triple jump with a mark of 11.99 meters, which currently ranks fifth among all GLIAC athletes.
In the women's throwing events, two Lakers set new PRs at the Tune-Up. Bethany Wilson recorded a personal-best distance of 8.33 meters in the shot put while Maddison Gould set a new personal record in the weight throw after posting a mark of 9.54 meters.
In the men's throwing events, two Lakers also set PRs. Freshman Kamuran Ramadanov threw the shot put a distance of 8.95 meters for a new collegiate-best while junior Timothy Howes recorded a seventh place finish in the weight throw with a PR throw of 13.90 meters.
Full results can be found here.
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