May 16, 2008

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State University is sending 24 student-athletes to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in Walnut, Calif. 10 men and 14 women will take part in the meet, which gets underway on May 22 and concluding on May 24.

On the men's side, 10 separate student-athletes qualified for nationals, with one member of the team qualifying in two events. Nick Polk qualified in both the 5000-meter and the 10k events, recording a time of 14:26.23 in the 5k and 29:57.31 in the 10k. Nate Peck also qualified in the 5000-meter run with a time of 14:00.91. Two other Lakers will compete in the 10k with Polk. James Gale qualified with a time of 30:21.57, while Ryan Holm's time of 30:32.85 entered him, as well.

Two Lakers will take part in the 3000-meter steeplechase: Chris Hammer and Curtis Barclay. Hammer recorded a time of 9:09.56, while Barclay was right behind him at 9:11.87. Bill Makela made it to nationals by recording a time of 52.42 second in the 400-meter hurdles. In field events, Bryant Wilson qualified by clearing a height of 5.20 meters in the pole vault. Tim Lelito also qualified, throwing a distance of 54.08 metes in the discus. Mike Stowe is the final men's qualifier, competing in the decathlon.

On the women's side, GVSU is sending 14 student-athletes to the national meet. Three runners will compete in the 1500-meter run, led by Katie Alfredson's time of 4:34.76. Kellie Gibbons and Rebecca Winchester both made it in with times of 4:36.29 and 4:36.71, respectively. Katherine McCarthy qualified in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:09.65. In the 3000-meter run, Amy Kolin's time of 10:06.12 secured her a spot at nationals. Megan Maceratini qualified in the 5k with a time of 17:20.73 and Candice Wheat's time of 13.79 seconds qualified her in the 100-meter hurdles, as well.

Seven women qualified for nationals in field events. Heather VanderSlik and Maegan Doyen both qualified in the high jump, clearing heights of 1.75 and 1.71 meters, respectively. Dianna Noonan's height of 4.02 in the pole vault, coupled with Miranda Farr's height of 3.75 meters, will send both of them to nationals. Kathie Posa and Emily Fox were both national qualifiers in the hammer throw. Posa's final distance was 56.32 meters, while Fox threw 54.88 to make the meet. Mary Bogner threw a javelin 44.00 meters to qualify for the national meet.