GVSU track & field competes in Hilltopper relays at Western Kentucky

The Grand Valley State men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in the Hilltopper Relays hosted by Western Kentucky University on the afternoon of Friday, April 6. At the event, 10 different athletes hit NCAA provisional marks. 

The Laker women currently sit at No. 7 in the national poll, while the men are No. 11.

In the women’s field events, the Lakers saw three athletes hit provisional marks. Bobbie Goodwin finished first in the discus with a distance of 44.69 meters and placed third overall in the hammer throw at 52.01 meters. Elli Kimes (third) and Lucy Buckholz (fourth) both hit qualifying marks in the pole vault with clearings of 4.02 meters. In the track events, the women had three different athletes hit NCAA qualifying marks. Tiara Wiggins hit a qualifying mark in the 100-meter hurdles at 14.01, along with a third-place finish, while Jessica Eby and Heather Johnson both hit provisional marks in the 400-meter hurdles at 1:01.43 and 1:01.77 for the third and fourth places.

On the men’s side, four Laker athletes hit provisional marks. In the field events, Justin Scavarda claimed two top marks in the shot put and the discus. Scavarda hit a distance of 17.34 meters in the shot put and 50.42 meters in the discus. Jacob Battani finished with the top height in the pole vault after he cleared with a qualifying mark of 5.10 meters. In the track events, Tyler Kirkwood hit a provisional mark of 14.55 in the 110-meter hurdles, along with a second-place finish, while Tyler Pavliga finished second after he ran a 52.95 in the 400-meter hurdles.

The GVSU men’s and women’s track and field teams will be on the road again next week as they will compete in three meets hosted by Oakland University, Bucknell and Pittsburg State.

GVSU men’s tennis falls short against Wayne State

The Grand Valley State men’s tennis team fell to Wayne State in a close (5-4) conference match on the afternoon of Saturday, April 7. With the loss, the Lakers are now 12-7 overall and hold a 4-3 conference record.

GVSU led after doubles play 2-1, with victories from Alex van de Steenoven and Drew Coleman, who won 8-6 from the No. 1 pairing, while D.J. Colantone and Sebastien Lescoulie claimed an 8-3 win from the No. 2 doubles position. The duo of Nicholas Urban and Jack Geissler fell 8-5 at No. 3 doubles.

In singles actions, the Lakers were unable to hold their lead, as the Warriors won four of the six singles matches. Geissler won in a long three-set match from No. 2 singles, dropping the first match 6-3 before winning the next two sets 7-5, 7-6. Colantone also won in three sets by a score of 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 from the No. 5 slot. Lescoulie (6-1, 6-0) and Steenoven (6-3, 6-2) were defeated from the No. 1 and No. 3 singles positions, while Urban was also defeated from the No. 4 position 7-6, 6-2. Playing out of the No. 6 singles position, Marcus Muniz Infante fought hard but was dropped in three sets by a score of 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.

The Lakers will be on the road for the remainder of the season, as they will travel to Marion, Indiana, for the Wildcat Invitational on Friday, April 13, and Saturday, April 14. GVSU will then have its final conference matchup against Purdue Northwest on Sunday, April 15.