The Grand Valley State University men’s and women’s track & field teams hosted and competed in the Mike Lints Alumni Open Saturday at the Kelly Family Sports Center.
The meet highlighted the University’s depth across events as multiple Lakers delivered top finishes, program records and nationally significant performances. With postseason competition approaching, the Alumni Open served as both a showcase for current athletes and a measuring stick against alumni and regional competitors.
Entering the weekend, three Laker athletes earned Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Association Athlete of the Week honors: senior jumper Alaina Diaz, senior jumper Kaylee Diamond and sophomore jumper Andrew Kraft.
“It’s always great to have our student athletes recognized for their success,” said Head Coach Jerry Baltes.
The Lakers also arrived ranked among the Nation’s best. The men entered the meet ranked No. 3 in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II and No. 1 in the Midwest Region, while the women stood No. 2 nationally and No. 1 in the Midwest region.
Several performances reinforced those rankings throughout the day. In the men’s 400-meter dash, redshirt senior Joshua Page surged to a Division II No. 2 mark, setting a program record with a time of 46.57 seconds.
Early success followed in women’s pole vault, where sophomore Brooke Bowers cleared 4.05 meters to finish first. Her mark ranked second all-time behind Olympic gold medalist Katie Moon, who cleared 4.50 meters.
The men’s shot-put alumni round saw a familiar face atop the standings. Former Laker and current assistant coach of throws, Myles Kerner won the event with a mark of 19.29 meters.
“It was great to see Myles back in the ring,” Baltes said. He is one of our best ever leaders in our program’s history. We are grateful to still have him at practice leaving by example, mentoring our student athletes, as well as competing at a high level.
Momentum continued in the throws events. Redshirt senior Shelby Ulven captured first place in the women’s weight throw with a toss of 19.95 meters, while redshirt senior Sebastian Tesch finished second in the men’s weight throw at 21.49 meters.
Tesch’s performance placed him within reach of the school record set in 2016.
“I’m very happy with my performance,” Tesch said. “I have been pushing toward throwing over 70 ft for a minute now, and we were just waiting for it to come out. It was awesome to have my teammates alongside me and to see others hit PRs.”
Despite the strong showing, Tesch noted there is still room for growth.
“I’m really looking forward to going into this week of practice with some new thoughts and ideas that we found late last week,” Tesch said. “The coaching staff for the throws squad at GVSU is second to none, and I’m beyond grateful to be a part of this squad.”
Looking ahead, Tesch highlighted where the unit stands nationally.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better final indoor season,” Tesch said. “Our weight-throw squad ranking is first in NCAA DII by about a meter, and we’re ranked four (in) all divisions, just a few centimeters behind (the University of) Virginia.”
Speed events also produced standout finishes. In the women’s 60-meter hurdles prelims, senior Destini Dorkins posted the fastest qualifying time at 8.85 seconds. On the men’s side, sophomore Dominic Downes qualified first at 8.00 seconds, followed by sophomore Jackson Hayward at 8.10.
Downes carried that momentum into the finals, winning the men’s race in 7.93 seconds. Dorkins matched the effort on the women’s side, finishing first with a time of 8.79.
The women’s 60-meter dash saw freshman Gianni Harris take first in both the prelims and finals, clocking 7.64 seconds in each race. Her finals time tied for eighth all-time in program history.
In the jumps, sophomore Prentice Gardner Jr. finished second in the men’s triple jump with a mark of 13.82 meters, tying with several competitors, including teammate sophomore Logan Ehlers. Sophomore Peter Van Hulle delivered another highlight by winning the men’s long jump at 7.09 meters, improving more than a foot from his previous best of 6.95.
Distance events rounded out the day. Freshman Abby Olson claimed first in the women’s mile with a time of 5:05.61, while redshirt freshman Owen Patton placed second in the men’s mile at 4:15.98. In the 800 meters, redshirt junior Lilly Alberts finished with a time of 2:16.34 on the women’s side. Redshirt freshman Gavin Borger captured first place for the men, crossing the line in 1:53.68.
Up next, the University will host the Big Meet Feb. 13–14 at the Kelly Family Sports Center. Event times are to be announced.
