After watching a thrilling dual meet between Michigan and Michigan State on Saturday afternoon, fans at the Kelly Family Sports Center had an opportunity to witness the Grand Valley State track and field teams run over the competition and come away with their most dominant performance of the season.

The No. 4 GVSU men started fast and never let up in the nightcap, finishing with victories in 12 of 14 events for a total of 218 points – more than tripling second-place Lincoln, which had 71 points. No. 8 Lewis took third with 67 points and St. Joseph came in last with 65 points.

The Lakers were also impressive on the women’s side, as the No. 9 GVSU women claimed seven of 14 event victories for a total of 176 points. No. 3 Lewis tallied 98 points, No. 11 Lincoln scored 97 and St. Joseph’s had 52.

GVSU coach Jerry Baltes said all of his groups had bright spots across the board.

“The first couple of meets on the season we were just surviving and trying to get through it,” Baltes said. “We really turned the corner as a team this weekend in a lot of areas across the board which was very good to see.”

Luke Vasilion placed first the 60 meter dash, Sean Wells won both the 200 meter run and the 60 meter hurdles, Brent Brock crossed first in the 400 meter dash, Wuoi Mach won the 800 meter run and Bryce Bradley did the same in the 3000 meter run. The 4×400 meter relay team (Wells, Brock, T.J. Burnett and Daniel Pung) also finished first with a time of 3:19.40.

The Laker men were just as successful in the field events: Patrick Fisch (pole vault), Gerald McGee (long jump) and Samora Nesbitt (triple jump) all had first-place performances, while Darien Thornton notched a pair of victories in the shot put and weight throw.

“It was awesome seeing the team chemistry at the meet on Saturday; you could tell when someone on our team did well because the whole team was cheering and making a lot of noise and rooting for their teammates,” Bradley said. “A successful meet like this gives our team lots of confidence, 90 percent of the time I’ll take the confident runner over the hardworking runner – a confident team is the best thing any coach can have.”

The athletes in the pole vault competition led the way for GVSU on the women’s side, where the team came away with four of the top five spots. Jamie Roberts finished first, Skylar Schoen and Alexandra Kitz tied for third and Whitney Bice took fifth.

Other winners included Angela Ritter in the 60 meter dash, Jenna Klynstra in the mile, Amy Cymerman in the 3000 meter run, Samantha Saikalis in the high jump, Alexis Duncan in the long jump and Laura Schroder in the weight throw.

“It was a major step in the right direction, and this performance brought us closer to where we want to be and what we want to accomplish,” said GVSU junior Jessica Janecke.

The Lakers are back in action next Friday, when they travel to compete against rival Saginaw Valley State in a dual meet at 5 p.m.