GVSU Track & Field performs well at Bob Eubanks Open
Jan 13, 2020
On Friday, Jan. 10, the Grand Valley State Lakers hosted the Bob Eubanks Open, where both the men’s and women’s indoor track teams competed in their first meet following winter break.
Not only was this meet the first of the new semester, but it was their second of the season. Heading into the meet, GVSU coach Jerry Baltes was unsure of how the teams would perform after having so much time off.
“Getting back into the swing of things, you just never know what we’re gonna have coming off of the break after having a two-and-a-half to three-week layoff,” Baltes said. “Some kids did a really nice job over break and got some training in on their own and some other kids sat on their couch and ate too many Christmas cookies.”
The highlight of the meet was the women’s team’s performance in the field, where both Erika Lechner and Bobbie Goodwin took first place in their events. Lechner threw 14.42m in shotput, earning her provisional qualification. Goodwin threw 18.98m in the weight throw and also earned her provisional qualification.
“Bobbie didn’t throw really far, but for how hard she has trained these past ten days, (Goodwin) had some decent throws,” Baltes said.
Training and hard work are some things that Baltes has been emphasizing this season, even after hitting their provisional marks, Baltes said that it is still important for everyone on the team to continue improving.
“It’s good to get those things out of the way, it’s sort of a safety net here,” Baltes said. “It doesn’t do any good to hit those early and not be ready to go when you get there. Most of the marks have got to improve still, it’s nice to have those in our back pocket but we need to get back to training and building towards the NCAA Championship.”
The NCAA Championship is one of the two main goals that GVSU has their sights on, the other being to obtain another GLIAC Championship as well. This season, the Lakers plan to continue their tradition that they’ve established of bringing home the GLIAC title.
“Ulimately we want to compete for championships, the GLIAC is always on the radar we’ve won a handful of thoseover the years,” Baltes said. “Certainly to be in a position to compete for the GLIAC championship, hopefully get as many people to the NCAA champianships, and to score as many points as possible. It’s our hope to be in the mix.”
Moving forward and working towards these goals, the Lakers are focusing on preparation and paying attention to where the players are at currently and improving themselves accordingly.
“We just have to keep preparing, we go about our buisiness everyday and prepare to get better,” Baltes said. “You can’t worry about the end of the season, you just have to take care of where we’re at now and really focus on getting better here.”
The Lakers will host their next meet, the GVSU Bill Clinger Classic, on Friday, Jan. 17.
