Three sunny days and a few dozen slow-claps later, the NCAA Division II 2015 Outdoor Track & Field Championships drew to a close.

With 53 points, St. Augustine’s squeaked out a win on the men’s side, while the Jennies of Central Missouri galloped away from the women’s competition with 59 points.

The Grand Valley State men finished 10th with 30 points.

“Coming off an NCAA runner-up our expectations were hopefully to compete for a trophy stand,” said GVSU head coach Jerry Baltes. “You finish 10th and you’re a little disappointed but I thought we competed pretty well throughout the weekend. I think the tone was that we competed pretty well and just came up short in some spots.”

The Lakers were lead by junior Sean Wells, who took first place in the 110 meter hurdles in a photo finish, topping West Texas A&M’s Lorenzo Johnson by one hundredth of a second. Wells finished with a time of 13.68, resetting his own school record.

Sophomore Chris Saikalis muscled out a throw of 18.17 meters in the shot put, earning himself a fourth place finish.

Elsewhere, junior Darien Thornton earned a fourth place finish and All-American honors with a throw of 62.44 meters in the hammer throw.

On the final day of competition, senior Trent Chappell cleared a height of 2.13 meters in the high jump to snag fifth place in the event.

“I was really hoping for 2.19 (meters). That would have been the school record,” Chappell said. “That was the goal for my last meet and I would’ve liked that, but I’m happy to be an All-American again… I have to be thankful for at least getting up there on that podium”

Joining Wells, Saikalis, Thornton and Chappell in All-American honors were junior Ricky Perez (1500 meter run), junior Ethan Barnes (800 meter run) and sophomore Bryce Bradley (5000 meter run).

The Laker women, ranked fifth in the nation heading into competition, finished fourth with 41 points.

GVSU was led by senior Amy Cymerman, whose last stretch kick on the 10,000 meters pushed her across the finish line at 34.43.16, earning her a top podium spot on Thursday night.

“Being on turf is just a whole different ballgame,” Cymerman said. “We have so much support here. It’s awesome and it just motivates me even more to score for my team and to put out for my team.”

“Everyone thinks track is an individual sport but I was really looking to score some points and get high on the podium to help us out.”

On Saturday afternoon, Cymerman helped the Lakers out a little more. The senior willed her way to a sixth place finish in the 5000 meter run with a time of 16.47.70. Finishing in second place in the same event was fellow GVSU standout, sophomore Kendra Foley (16.43.14).

Junior Laura Schroeder got the Lakers on the board first, notching a second place finish in the hammer throw with a heave of 59.47 meters.

The junior-senior tandem of Alex Kitz and Jenn Schornak pole vaulted to a fifth place tie, each clearing a height of 3.80.

Junior Rebecka Anderson (javelin throw) and the crew of Carly Scott, Brittney Banister, Michalea Lewis and Angela Ritter (4×100 meter relay) also earned All-American plaudits.

“I just want to say thanks to all of our seniors who have done so much over the course of their careers to put us in this position,” Baltes said. “We want to win a championship for them and all the hard work they’ve done.”

Findlay (50 points) and Ashland (43) finished second and third in the men’s competition, while Lincoln (Mo.) (50) and New Mexico Highlands (42) fell into the same slots for the women.