School size doesn’t matter when it comes to the Grand Valley State track and field program.

GVSU competed in the Gladstein Invitational at Indiana University against many bigger schools this past weekend and had many athletes perform well on both days, Friday and Saturday.

“It doesn’t add any pressure on the team as a whole competing against bigger schools at a meet like this…Seeing that kind of competition early helps our team out as a whole,” said GVSU coach Jerry Baltes.

On Friday, the Laker teams placed eight athletes in the top 10 in the field portion of the day. Two of those athletes finished in the top five. 

In the men’s weight throw, Darien Thornton led a group of three GVSU competitors in the top 10. Thornton placed fourth in the event with his 19.14m throw, hitting an NCAA provisional qualifying mark while Jay Lechner came away in eighth place with a throw of 17.28m for another provisional mark.

Patrick Fisch claimed sixth place in pole vault by clearing a height of 4.65m.

For the second weekend in a row, the 1-mile run was the most successful event for the No. 3 Laker men as they once again placed three runners in the top five. Wuoi Mach took second (4:13.88), Ricky Perez took third (4:13.91) and Joel Rietsma finished fourth (4:14.46).

“To finish second, third and fourth like that again is a huge momentum builder not only for us as individuals, but as a team also,” Rietsma said. “The three of us like to run together and it makes us feel stronger when we stick together, but we also have a little friendly competition between the three of us because we want to win the race and be the best. It pushes us to become better in the event.”

The No. 3 Laker women on Friday placed three field athletes in the top 10. Jennifer Schornak led the way with a sixth-place finish in pole vault by clearing a mark of 3.71m, while Alexandra Kitz placed eighth.

The GVSU program was just as successful on Saturday, placing a total of 11 athletes in the top 10 and winning one event on the final day of the meet.

Sean Wells, who is a returning All-American for the indoor season, led the Laker men by winning the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 7.92 — just .03 seconds away from automatically qualifying for the NCAA championship meet. Wells was also a member of the 4×400 meter relay team that placed second with a time of 3:15.08.

“Sean had a really good day on Saturday for us,” Baltes said. “He ran really well in the finals of the hurdles and helped our 4×400 team to a second-place finish for us. His time of 7.92 on Saturday is the second fastest time in the country so far.”

Mach placed third in the 800 meter open with his time of 1:54.22 and Joel Rietsma placed sixth in the 800 meter invitational. Odell McFarland and Jesse Schwartz placed seventh and eighth in the 200 meter dash.

On the women’s side, freshman Angela Ritter led the team with her third-place finish in the 60 meter dash with her time of 7.78. Ritter was just .02 seconds out of second place and .10 seconds away from first place in the event. Teammate Michaela Lewis raced in the same event and came away with a sixth-place finish. 

Breanna Luba raced in the finals of the 60 meter hurdles and finished sixth (8.87). Natalie Nelson took fourth in the 800 meter open run while her teammate Carly Scott finished eighth.

“Overall the team had a mixed-bag performance on the weekend,” Baltes said. “There were some good things and some things we have to improve on, but it’s very early in the season yet with this being only the second weekend of competition.”

The Lakers will be back in action on Saturday when they host the GVSU Quad Meet in the Kelly Family Sports Center at 5:30 p.m.