Ferris State falls to Northwest Missouri State in NCAA Semifinal

Northwest Missouri State defeated Ferris State 35-20 in the NCAA Semifinal Saturday, Dec. 10. NMSU advances to the NCAA National Championship to face North Alabama in Kansas City, Missouri Saturday, Dec. 17. FSU defeated Grand Valley State 47-32 in the NCAA Quarterfinal at Lubbers Stadium Saturday, Dec. 3.

Foley named finalist for DII Honda Athlete of the Year

Grand Valley State women’s cross country and track runner Kendra Foley was named one of 11 finalists for the Division II Honda Athlete of the Year. Helping the Lakers to a first-place finish at the NCAA Division II National Championships, Foley was the individual champion in the event.

The individual championship was the second title for Foley, making her the first woman in Division II history to win national titles in non-consecutive years. She won the championship in 2014 in her sophomore season and finished second in 2015, three-tenths of a second behind the first place runner. In the 2016 national championship, Foley posted a time of 20:01.8, which was 24.6 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

The winner of the 2016 Honda Collegiate Athlete of the Year will be revealed over webcast June 26, 2017 in Los Angeles.

Three Lakers named to NSCAA Scholar All-American Teams

Three players on the Grand Valley State women’s soccer team have been named as NSCAA Scholar All-Americans for their work on the field and in the classroom. Junior Gabriella Mencotti was named the 2016 NSCAA Scholar Player of the Year. Senior Clare Carlson earned a spot on the First Team, and junior Shannon Quinn was named to the Second Team.

In order to be named for the award, players must hold at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA and played at least 50 percent of all games. Players must also be a junior or above in academic standing.

For the second consecutive year, Carlson was named a NSCAA Scholar All-American. In their first year of eligibility, Mencotti and Quinn are both first-time honorees. All three players helped the Lakers to a 23-2-1 record and a fourth straight appearance in the NCAA National Championship.

Two Lakers win GLIAC Swimmer of the Week honors

Leonie Van Noort and Ben Walling of the Grand Valley State swimming team both took home GLIAC Swimmer of the Week honors after their performance at the 2016 Calvin Invitational.

Van Noort helped the Lakers to a 1,517-point first-place finish. She set a GVSU school-record in the 200 free with a time of 1:47.15. The time was also a NCAA Division II A-cut time. She added another A-cut time in the 500 freestyle (4:47.80) and two B-cuts in the 1,650 freestyle (16:50.36) and the 200 backstroke (2:00.95).

On the men’s side, Walling helped GVSU claim first place with 1,785.5 team points. He set two school records and hit two NCAA DII B-cut times in the process. Walling set school records and hit B-cuts in the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.21 and in the 100 freestyle with a time of 43.90.