Laker basketball players receive honors

The GLIAC announced its All-Conference teams for the regular season this week, and two Grand Valley State men’s basketball players received awards.

Junior Luke Ryskamp was named to the All-GLIAC Second Team, and senior center Chaz Rollins was one of 10 players named to the All-GLIAC Defensive Team. GLIAC coaches voted on the teams, but couldn’t vote for their own players.

Ryskamp was the second-leading scorer for the Lakers this season with 13.8 points-per-game, which was good for 22^nd in the GLIAC. He scored in double figures 13 times this season, and GVSU was 12-1 when Ryskamp led the team in scoring.

Rollins was a force inside for the Lakers this season, and led the team with 8.7 rebounds per game, good for fourth-best in the GLIAC. It’s the highest per-game rebounding average for the Lakers since Callistus Eziukwu had 8.8 rebounds per game in the 2007-08 season.

The senior center also led the team in blocks with 26, and had the second-most offensive boards in the GLIAC with 80.

Women’s lacrosse sweeps first week of GLIAC awards

Grand Valley State’s Meghan Datema and Sarah Zwilsky have gotten the season off to a solid start, and swept the first GLIAC weekly awards of the year with their performances in the first three games of the year.

Datema was named the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week, while Zwilsky was named GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week.

Datema has notched six points on five goals and one assist through three games, which was all accomplished against top-five teams. She also leads the team with 12 draw controls.

Zwilsky, the Lakers’ junior goalkeeper, has recorded 22 saves on the season thus far. It is her second GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week honor of her career.

Next up, Datema and Zwilsky will lead the No. 11 Lakers against No. 18 Bentley on March 8, when they’ll try to get a win and possibly earn the first top-10 ranking in the team’s history.

GVSU men’s and women’s track and field athletes receive recognition

Grand Valley State track and field placed 14 athletes each from the men’s and women’s teams on the USTFCCCA All-Midwest Region lists, for a combined total of 42 regional honors.

The recognition comes after the Lakers swept the indoor track and field championships at Tiffin this past weekend, Feb. 27-28.

Players like Ethan Barnes, Wuoi Mach, Kendra Foley and Angela Ritter were named to the list. For a complete list of Lakers who were honored, visit www.gvsulakers.com.

GVSU track and field to send athletes to national championship meet

The Grand Valley State track and field team will send 28 individual competitors and two relay teams to the 2016 Indoor Track and Field National Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas from March 11-12.

The Laker men, who are ranked No. 3 nationally, will send 15 athletes, while the No. 4-ranked women will send 13 athletes. Both the men and the women will send one relay team.