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April 14, 2007
Grand Valley State's distance runners had an outstanding day on Friday as 16 out of 21 student-athletes recorded lifetime bests. GVSU competed in the Mt. SAC Relays and UCLA Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invite in California. In the two meets, the Lakers had one USA Championship qualifier, one NCAA automatic qualifier, four new school records set, and 13 NCAA provisional qualifiers.
At the Mt. SAC Relays, Mandi Zemba broke her own school record with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 15:38.54 in the 5,000 meter run. Her time was a lifetime best and also qualified her for the USA Championships. Zemba finished in 14th place overall and the winner of the race, Shalane Flanagan, broke the women's american record with a time of 14:44.80. Stacey Kandas finished in 10th place in the 10,000 meter run with a school record time of 35:27.74. Her time was an NCAA provisional time and a lifetime best. She broke Karlie Singleton's former school record.
On the men's side, Robbie Young took second in the 3,000 meter with an NCAA provisional time of 9:07.48. He also set a new school record, breaking Chris Hammer's previous record. Nate Peck broke his own school record in the 5,000 meter run with a time of 14:15.42. He finished 14th overall and his time was an NCAA provisional mark.
Chris Hammer ran a lifetime best in the 3,000 meter, finishing fourth with a time of 9:07.57. Ryan Holm ran a time of 30:00.99 in the 10,000 meter, which was a lifetime best and an NCAA provisional mark. James Gale followed Holm, running a 30:09.95, which was also a lifetime best and provisional time. John Collins finished in fifth place in his heat of the 800 meter run with a time of 1:54.13.
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At the UCLA Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invite, Kelly Gibbons recorded a lifetime best and NCAA provisional time of 4:33.06 as she finished seventh in the 1500 meter run. Lori Burgess placed 16th in the 1500 meter run with a 4:41.02, which was an NCAA provisional time and also a lifetime best. Lauren Bader ran an NCAA provisional time of 17:36.93 to finish 16th in the 5,000 meter. Sarah Jaquith finished in second place in the 10,000 meter run. She ran an NCAA provisional and lifetime best time of 37:15.91. Jessica Koster placed fourth in the 10,000 with an NCAA provisional and lifetime best time of 37:26.43. Lynsey Ardingo ran a lifetime best time of 38:37.59 for a sixth place finish in the 10,000 meter run. Leah Borns finished in 21st place in the 5,000 meter run as she ran a time of 17:56.13. Katherine McCarthy ran a lifetime best time of 2:14.09 for an eighth place in the 800 meter run.
On the men's side Grant Fall ran an NCAA provisional and lifetime best time of 14:29.46 for an eighth place finish in the 5,000 meter run. Nick Polk finished in 14th place in the 5,000 meter run. His time of 14:38.09 was an NCAA provisional and lifetime best. Ross Faasse finished in 22nd place in the 5,000 meter run with a lifetime best time of 14:52.32. Derek Marr ran a lifetime best time of 1:56.85 for a 13th place finish in the 800 meter run. Patrick Sage ran a time of 2:00.90 as he finished in 18th place in the 800 meter run.
"This was an outstanding day for our distance runners," said head coach Jerry Baltes. "We accomplished a lot against some great competition."
"Mandi Zemba was in the race that a new American record was set and she ran a gutsy race as she bettered her lifetime best by 10 second, qualifying her for the USA Championships this summer," added Baltes. "She was the third fastest collegiate athlete in the field and the second best American collegiate athlete."
"I am very proud of how our student-athletes competed against the best distance runners in the country," said Baltes. "This was a great start for our distance squad, but at the same time I feel we have a lot of room to grow and improve yet this season. I am excited to see what we can do at the GLIAC Championships and NCAA Championships in May."
