Grand Valley State will be represented at the Olympic Trials.

Senior Darien Thornton recorded the third longest hammer throw in NCAA Division II track and field history at the National Championships on May 26-28.

His heave flew 71.21 meters and earned him an individual national championship in the event, All-American honors, a new GVSU record and further cemented his invite to the Olympic trials on July 6 in Eugene, Oregon.

“Darien was impressive over the course of his series of throws and crushing his school record,” GVSU head coach Jerry Baltes said. “It was great to see him go out on top of his collegiate career. We are looking forward to him representing GVSU at the Olympic Trials in July.”

Thornton’s effort helped the GVSU men finish tied for fourth overall at the National Meet with 33 points. The Laker women finished tied for fourth as well with 36 points.

“I am proud of how our student athletes battled over the course of the three days of competition,” Baltes said. “We had some great results and gutsy performances. It’s always great to get on the podium and bring home some hardware.”

Thornton was the lone Laker to win a national title, but was one of three GVSU athletes to set a school record. Thornton broke his previous record of 70.45 meters set less than two weeks earlier at the GVSU Tune-Up Meet.

TJ Burnett’s time of 51.58 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles prelims broke Logan Hoffman’s 2012 record of 51.61 seconds. Burnett would go on to finish sixth in the final (52.54) to earn All-American honors.

Angie Ritter tore apart the previous GVSU 400-meter record of 54.60 seconds set by Christy Tedrow in 2002. Ritter finished the final in 53.65 seconds, earning her fifth place and All-American status.

“I was ranked low coming into the meet, and when I’m the underdog, I run scared, which apparently makes me run faster,” she said. “Also, I knew it’d be the last time this year for all my training and hard work to pay off, so I wanted to make the most of it.”

Sean Wells ended his GVSU career with a third place finish in the in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.97 seconds. The finish gave Wells his fourth All-American award in his distinguished career.

Redshirt freshman Zach Panning showed his teammates and coaches they can expect great things from him in the coming years when he took fourth in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:14.85. Bryce Bradley also earned All-American honors in the event with his seventh place finish.

Freshman Gina Patterson took home two All-American awards. Her time of 4:25.92 gave her eighth place in the 1,500-meter run and she earned eighth place again in the 5,000 when she crossed the finish line in 16:50.39.

Kendra Foley and Amy Cymerman earned All-American honors in the 5,000 as well, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Foley crossed the line in 16:40.42 and Cymerman finished in 16:42.30.

Cymerman earned another All-American honor in the 10,000-meter run, finishing in second with a time of 34:46.65.

Ritter also doubled up with two All-American awards. Her second came in the 4×400-meter relay. The team of Jessica O’Connell, Breanna Luba, Rachel Walters and Ritter finished in 3:42.83 to take seventh place.

“Rachel Walters really stepped up to the game in the 4×400,” Ritter said. “You can always trust and count on her to deliver. It’s my first time getting multiple All-American awards. I just feel so humbled and blessed. It definitely raises my expectations for the years to come. I’ve been so focused on school and track this year and it’s so fulfilling that the end result definitely outweighs the sacrifices I’ve made to get where I am.”

The 2016 Laker track and field season comes to a close with both the men and women posting top five finishes at both the indoor and outdoor national championships.