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Oct. 23, 2004
Grand Valley State captured both the men's and women's GLIAC Championship titles Saturday. The men won the title with 36 points, a 21-point margin over second place Hillsdale. The women posted 31 points, 56-points ahead of second place Northern Michigan. This is the third consecutive year the men have won the title and the fourth straight year for the women.
Finishing first for the men and taking second place overall, was freshman Nate Peck who recorded a time of 25:23.5. Senior Ryan Cole took third place with a 25:38.1, while sophomore Ryan Holm finished in fourth with a 25:42.9. Sophomore Christopher Pabst placed 13th with a time of 26:04.8 and junior Grant Fall finished 14th with a 26:10.7. Freshman Robbie Young finished in 26:35.2 for 23rd place and junior Blake Terhune rounded out the scoring for the Lakers with a time of 26:49.5
"The men did a great job of coming out and setting the tone of the race. We led much of the race early on and put ourself in a position to win," said head coach Jerry Baltes. "Nate Peck ran a very tough race and just came up a bit short. Ryan Cole and Ryan Holm did a great job staying focused and following Peck."
"I felt we did a great job of just sticking our noses in there and battling. The weather was definitely a factor, but the men did not let it get to them," added Baltes. "Our seventh runner Blake Terhune handled most of the course with one shoe, as it came off early on, so he had to race in the mud and water most of the way."
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Freshman Karlie Singleton finished in second place overall and first for the Lakers with a time of 22:31.7, while junior Mandy Long-Zemba took third place, running a 22:32.7. Senior Krista O'Dell ran a 22:47.8 for seventh place, sophomore Sarah Jaquith finished eighth (22:48.4), and freshman Bridgette Beeny took 11th with a 22:53.0. Junior Adrian Chouinard ran a 23:06.7 and sophomore Lauren Bader finished in 17th place with a 23:09.0.
"There is one word that can sum up the women's effort and that is courage," said Baltes. "We have three kids who are student teaching, two doing graduate work in Physical Therapy, one is a wife and mother, while a bunch of others are dealing with injuries."
"Karlie Singleton and Mandi Zemba really set the tone for us. Mandi recently had a baby and has showed courage and determination to be successful as a mother, wife, student, and runner," said Baltes. "Our pack of O'Dell, Jaquith, and Benny did an awesome job of working together and staying in the race."
"We feel both teams can improve a bit over the weeks and reach the levels we need to obtain our goals," said Baltes. "I am so proud of what these kids continue to do. The buy into the system and they just keep getting better. We have a lot of people who put a lot of time into the success of the program now and in the past years. These championships are truly team championships!"
"A special recognition needs to go to our coaching staff and administration who did a wonderful job of putting together the meet in tough weather conditions," said Baltes. "Charlie Wolf is irreplaceable, he does so many intangibles that is allows all of our kids to succeed at a higher level."
Grand Valley State head coach Jerry Baltes was named the 2004 Men's GLIAC Coach of the Year, while Jeff Kavalunasfrom Ferris State earned 2004 Women's GLIAC Coach of the Year honors. Ashland's Nate Iler was named 2004 Men's Runner of the Year and GVSU's Nate Peck earned GLIAC Men's Freshman of the Year plaudits. It marked the fifth straight year GVSU claimed Freshman of the Year honors. Northern Michigan's Stephanie Howe was named 2004 Women's Runner of the Year and GVSU's Karlie Singleton earned GLIAC Women's Freshman of the Year honors.
