TU's Thomas and LSSU's Allen Chosen As GLIAC Men's Indoor Track and Field "Athletes of the Year," Respectively

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BAY CITY, Mich. - Tiffin University senior Anthony Thomas (Cleveland, Ohio) and Lake Superior State University junior Jonathon Allen (Lansing, Mich.) were named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) men's indoor track and field "Athletes of the Year," respectively. Ashland University's Cory Lamar was voted "Freshman of the Year" while Grand Valley State University's Jerry Baltes was named "Coach of the Year."

GLIAC Men's Track Athlete of theYear:
Anthony Thomas - Tiffin
Senior
Cleveland, Ohio

Thomas landed three GLIAC Championships at Grand Valley State. He was part of the 4x400 relay team that obliterated the school and GLIAC record with a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 3:11.69. Thomas also won the 60 meters with a school record and provisional mark of 6.84 and the 200 meters with a GLIAC record and provisional mark of 21.45. He has had a standout 2010 indoor season, setting new school records in the 60 meters and the 4x400 while also holding the record in the 200 meters

GLIAC Men's Field Athlete of the Year:
Jonathon Allen - Lake Superior State
Junior
Lansing, Mich.

Allen shattered a 28-year-old GLIAC indoor record by winning the triple jump conference title with a performance of 15.45 meters. “John Allen’s performance at GLIAC’s was the most-impressive in Laker Track and Field history,” LSSU coach Steve Eles said. “We have had conference champions and all-Americans in the past. However, John received every accolade possible.” Allen, who bettered his former school record of 15.02 meters, improved upon the former GLIAC mark of 15.22 meters set by SVSU’s Eddie Brown in 1982.

GLIAC Men's Track Freshman of the Year:
Cory Lamar - Ashland
Cedar Springs, Mich.

As far as freshman seasons go it could not have gone much for Ashland’s Cory Lamar. At the GLIAC Championship, Lamar finished third in the 400 meters. He also helped the Eagles in the relay events. He was part of the 4x400 meter relay team that finished third and part of the distance medley quartet that placed in second. In all three events, Lamar provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships.

GLIAC Men's Track & Field Coach the Year:
Jerry Baltes - Grand Valley State

Jerry Baltes is in his 11th year as the head coach of GVSU’s men’s and women’s track and field teams. He helped coach the men’s team to a first place finish at the indoor championships, which is his 10th title in 11-years. This is also the sixth time he has been named GLIAC Coach of the Year. Baltes also coached the women to a first place finish at the indoor conference meet this year, their 11th straight.

-----GLIAC Men's Indoor Track & Field Weekly Notes-----

Ashland Eagles

The AU men’s track team finished second at the GLIAC Championship this past weekend (Feb. 26-27) at Grand Valley State. Kurt Roberts led the field in the shot put (61-1.25). In the heptathlon, Carsten Krohn’s 5053 points led the field. Joe Horn was the silver medalist in the 200 meters (21.74) and was fourth in the 200 meters (21.88). Cory Lamar was third in the 400 meters (48.19). Cameron Johnson was fourth in the 3000 (8:35.57) and fifth in the 5000 (14:45.31). Krohn was fourth in the 60 hurdles (8.38). The 4X4 relay of Lamar, Alan Dunson, Cyrus Granger and Horn was third (3:17.97). AU’s distance relay was second (9:56.36). First place went to Saginaw Valley State (9:55.26). The AU quartet included Matt Stratman, Lamar, Max Hiltner and Brandon Bauer. Nate Cooper was second in the triple jump (45-8) and fourth in the high jump (6-6) while Antonio Pickens was third in the long jump (22-7.25). The Eagles next compete at the NCAA National Championships on Mar. 12-13.

Ferris State Bulldogs

The Ferris State University men’s indoor track and field team wound up eighth at the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships held Friday and Saturday (Feb. 26-27) at the Laker Turf Building in Allendale, Mich. The Bulldogs tallied 25 points in the overall team race. FSU had an individual conference champion in senior men’s pole vaulter Greg Burns, who finished with an effort of 4.96 meters (16-3.25). His performance topped the national qualifying mark and set a new school indoor record. Senior Mike Mangieri earned runner-up honors for FSU in the 3,000 meters (8:35.53) and came in seventh in the 5,000 meters (14:47.78). Meanwhile, Justin Price placed fourth overall in the 400 meters (49.03) for the FSU men. The NCAA-II Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held March 12-13 in Albuquerque, N.M.

Findlay Oilers

Findlay finished sixth with 61.5 points at the 2010 GLIAC Championship. Curtis Smithey won the 400-meter dash with a school record breaking and NCAA automatic qualifying time of 47.42. He also teamed with Greg Schaible, Simon Bernard and Lyndon Johnson in the 4x400-meter relay to cross the finish line in second place with a provisional qualifying mark of 3:13.32. Smithey completed his spectacular day with a sixth place finish in the 200-meter dash at 22.06. Cory Vales was third in the high jump at 6’07.50, Derrick Vicars took third in the shot put with a provisional heave of 56’07.50, Johnson finished fourth in the 200-meter (21.98) and Shane Shockey was fourth in the pole vault (15’03.50).

Grand Valley State Lakers

Grand Valley State’s men’s track and field team claimed the 2010 GLIAC Indoor Track and Field Championship last Saturday (Feb. 27) with a team score of 167 points. This is the ninth title the Lakers have captured in the past 10 years. GVSU took home four individual titles and head coach Jerry Baltes was award GLIAC Coach of the Year. Sophomore Tyler Emmorey (Cedar Springs, Mich.) placed first in the mile with a time of 4:10.97 and hit the provisional mark for the first time this season. Jon Manby (East Kentwood, Mich.) finished right behind in second with a time of 4:12.36. Jeff Nordquist (Kalamazoo, Mich.) took the GLIAC title in the 3000-meter run with a time of 8:32.11, while Paul Zielinski (Columbus, Ind.) also claim GLIAC Champion in the 5000-meter run (14:37.52) followed by Ryan Toth (North Liberty, Ind.) in third (14:43.17). Zielinski and Toth both hit the NCAA provisional mark. In the field events, senior Nate Miller (Trenton, Mich.) automatically qualified for nations in the high jump with a first place finish and a jump of 6’11.75". Junior Quinton Dennis (Lansing, Mich.) placed second and senior Matt Gordeneer (Vermontville, Mich.) finished third in the pole vault. Both had a vault of 16’3.25", which beat their previous provisional marks. In the long jump, senior Ryan Rademacher (Grand Rapids, Mich.) finished second with a jump of 22’7.25". The Lakers will now prepare for the NCAA Division II National Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. March 12-13.

Hillsdale Chargers

The Charger men finished fifth overall.Seniors Jared Krout (long jump) and Jason Stomps (weight throw) finished in first place in their respective events, which were held Friday at Grand Valley State University. Friday’s events consisted of the preliminaries in the hurdle and sprint events, some of the field events, and the pentathlon. Krout, who has been a GLIAC champion many times over during his brilliant career, won the long jump title with a leap of 23 feet, 4 1/2 inches. Stomps, already ranked among the nation’s best weight throwers, turned in an incredible mark of 69 feet, 6 inches to earn first place in that event. His teammate Aaron Falk wasn’t far behind, taking second with a throw of 69 feet, 1 1/2 inches. Skylar Dooleywas third in the 200 meter dash, finishing in 21.83 seconds.

Lake Superior State Lakers

Lake Superior State junior Jonathon Allen (Lansing, Mich.) shattered a 28-year-old GLIAC indoor record by winning the triple jump conference title with a performance of 15.45 meters. He was named GLIAC Field Athlete of the Meet. “John Allen’s performance at GLIAC’s was the most-impressive in Laker Track and Field history,” LSSU coach Steve Eles said. “We have had conference champions and all-Americans in the past. However, John received every accolade possible.” Allen, who bettered his former school record of 15.02 meters, improved upon the former GLIAC mark of 15.22 meters set by SVSU’s Eddie Brown in 1982. He also exceeded the NCAA automatic qualifying standard of 15.20 meters. Laker teammate Patrick Wright (Luzerne, Mich.) was seventh in the triple jump at 13.13 meters and 11th in the long jump (6.20 meters).

Northwood Timberwolves

The men's team placed seventh overall with 38 points. Northwood featured two school records and three NCAA qualifying marks in the event. Jared Fischer (Unionville, Mich./USA) finished third in the 800 with a NCAA provisional mark of 1:52.88. His teammate Sam Watson (Rochester, Mich.) also had a provisional mark in the event, finishing seventh at 1:53.50. Northwood's other NCAA mark came in the heptathlon, where senior Bill Smith (Comstock Park, Mich.) registered a school-record total of 4,716 points to place third overall. NU's other school record came in the Distance Medley Relay, where the Timberwolves finished with a time of 10:18.37.

Saginaw Valley State Cardinals

At the 2010 GLIAC Championship, Junior Marion Body (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights HS) took first place in the first heat of the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.33 while seniors Tony Filipek (Caro, Mich./Kingston HS) and Charlie Richards (Goodrich, Mich./Goodrich HS) took first and second place overall. Filipek crossed the line at 1:50.47, breaking the previous GLIAC record of 1:52.44, and Richards timed-in at 1:51.39. Body would also place third overall in the mile with a final time of 4:13. Senior Cortland Seaver (Freeland, Mich./Freeland HS) took second place in the first heat of the 3000-meter run timing in at 8:42.81 and senior Steve Genther (Laingsburg, Mich.) placed third overall with a time of 8:33.50. Genther would also place second in the 5000-meter run with a time of 14:40.46. The distance medley team of Richards, Body, Filipek and Derek Stone (Metamora, Mich./Lapeer East HS) took first place with a new GLIAC record time of 9:55.26. Chevalier would also place second in the 60-meter dash with a final time of 6.88. Freshman Calvin Sullins (Adrian, Mich./Adrian HS) finished third overall in the triple jump with a distance of 13.77 meters while freshman Tyler Grob (Adrian, Mich./Adrian HS) placed fourth in the heptathlon and earned second in the 1,000-meter run as well as the 60-meter hurdles, within the heptathlon competition.

Tiffin Dragons

Numerous highlights occurred for Tiffin University’s track and field squad as they competed at the GLIAC Indoor Championships. The men finished 3rd of 9 teams. TU’s men boasted 4 event champions while hitting numerous NCAA provisional marks and shattered more school records. The 4x400 relay team of Deven Keene, Justin Ware, Anthony Thomas, and Dominic Colvin obliterated the school record with a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 3:11.69. The time, which also shattered the GLIAC record, gave Anthony Thomas his third GLIAC championship of the day, as he also won the 60 meters with a school record and provisional mark of 6.84 and the 200 meters with a GLIAC record and provisional mark of 21.45. TU’s other individual champion came at the 60 meter hurdles, where Ramone Brant posted a provisional mark of 8.07. Other top finishers for TU’s men included Ware (400 - 2nd, provisional 48.09), DMR (4th), Travis LeFlore (high jump - 2nd, provisional 6-9), Dan Snyder (pole vault - 5th; heptathlon - 2nd, school record provisional 4988 points).