GVSU alumnus finishes fourth in triathlon at Paralympics

Chris Hammer, a former cross country and track and field runner at Grand Valley State, competed in the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Hammer participated in the triathlon and finished in fourth place.

Hammer made up for a slow start in the swimming leg with the second fastest time in both the bike and running legs. Hammer finished the first leg in 12:24, which was the ninth-best time among the swimmers. His bike leg of 32:34 and running leg of 16:36 allowed him to gain ground on the rest of the field.

Hammer was one of four Americans in the event, and his fourth place finish with a time of 1:03:43 was the highest finish out of the three. He finished behind gold medalist Martin Schulz from Germany, silver medalist Stefan Daniel from Canada and bronze medalist Jairo Ruiz Lopez of Spain.

Men’s tennis competes in Warhawk Invitational

The Grand Valley State men’s tennis team played in the Warhawk Invitational in Whitewater, Wisconsin this past weekend. The Lakers won 14 total matches, with two players taking first place in their respective draws.

Sophomore Alex van de Steenoven competed in the No. 4 draw, winning his semi-final match in straight sets 6-2, 6-1. Van de Steenoven carried his momentum into the championship round with a victory over Ferris State’s Daniil Tarantinov 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (10-7).

Marcus Muniz Infante won the No. 5 flight for the Lakers in commanding fashion. Infante won the semifinals and finals in straight sets. He won his semifinal match 6-0, 6-4 and his finals match against Zach Wood of Wisconsin-Whitewater 6-3, 6-3.

The Lakers No. 1, Zach Phillips, won in the consolation finals against Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Zane Navratil 6-3, 6-2.

The Lakers will travel to Holland, Michigan for the Hope College Invitational on Sept. 16 and 17.

Ritzenhein finishes second in Great Bristol Half Marathon

Dathan Ritzenhein, an Olympic long distance runner and Michigan native, finished in second place in the Great Bristol Half Marathon in Bristol, UK on Sept. 11. Ritzenhein often uses GVSU’s Kelly Family Sports Center as a place to train for marathons and even the Olympics.

He is a Rockford High School graduate and recently moved back to West Michigan after a five year stint in Oregon. In 2013, Ritzenhein was the fastest American runner at the Bank of American marathon Chicago Marathon with a time of 2:09:45.

Ritzenhein finished the Great Bristol Half Marathon behind only Mo Farah. Farah is a highly decorated distance runner with two Olympic gold medals. He is also a six-time European Champion and a world champion.

Ritzenhein finished with a time of 60:12, only eight seconds behind Farah’s first place time.