Feb. 22, 2008

Allendale, Mich. - Bryant Wilson cleared a Division II-best 17'3.75" in the pole vault and both Kathie Posa and Mary Boger joined him in automatically qualifying for the NCAA national meet. The three Lakers all bettered their own previous qualifying marks at the Grand Rapids Championships on Friday, Feb. 22. The two teams combined for 13 first-place victories, with seven coming in running events and six in the field. The Lakers will return to the track next weekend at the GLIAC Championships in Findlay, Ohio.

The women picked up three victories in the track events. Katie Mandziara crossed the finish line in 26.55 seconds in the 200-meter dash, which earned her first place. Megan Maceratini's time of 10:22.55 in the 3000-meter run was also good enough for first place. Danielle Fonseca bettered her preliminary time and finished in 8.55 seconds in the finals to take first in the 55-meter hurdles.

The women excelled in the field events, as well, picking up four first-place finishes. Tanisha Johnson's jump of 5'5" earned her first place in the high jump. Dianna Noonan took first in the pole vault by clearing a height of 12'2". Posa and Bogner dominated the throwing events, taking first and second in both the shot put and the weight throw. In the shot put, Posa's throw of 40'4.75" just beat out Bogner's toss of 40'2". And in the weight throw, it was even closer, with Posa's 60'6.75" beating out Bogner's 59'2.25".

Ryan Rademacher picked up one of the men's four in the track events, taking the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.62 seconds. Bill Makela's time of 23.29 seconds in the 200-meter dash also earned first-place honors. James Gale took the one-mile event with a time of 4:18.55, and Joey Latz picked up the Laker men's final track win with a time of 7.84 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles.

The men picked up two field wins, as well. Wilson's Division II best mark of 17'3.75" in the pole vault was followed up by a win by Clay Lipski in the weight throw. Lipski tossed the weight 53'9.75" to earn the victory.