Senior Ben Haas won weight throw. Courtesy | Ashley Van Hoose

Several athletes hit personal bests and reached provisional marks at the Grand Valley State University Big Meet Feb. 13-14. 

Sophomore Ally Kuzma ran a personal best in the 3K, placing third with a time of 9:29.62.

Kuzma is on track to race the 5K and the 3K at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track National Championships. She said her training will focus on priming her for nationals.

“Conference is a big priority too, but with nationals after that we still have to be a little careful to make sure that I’m ready,” Kuzma said. “I’ll still do the best that I can but then I’ll also be a little conservative with what I race at conference to make sure that I’m the best set up for nationals.”

Junior Eleanor Clark ran a personal best in the 3K open at 10:07.09, cutting 27 seconds off her previous record. Clark said she was racing to prepare for conference and attributed her improvement to assistant track and field coach R. P. White’s training style. 

“He really emphasizes being grateful for every opportunity to race,” Clark said. “I like that he puts it that way because it takes a little bit of the stress and pressure off. At the end of the day, it is such a great opportunity to use the talents God has given you.”

Senior Ben Haas took first in men’s weight throw with a mark of 21.86 meters and placed fourth in shot put with a mark of 17.03 meters. Sophomore Dominic Scharer placed third in weight throw with a mark of 20.48 meters. 

Junior Olivia Newsome placed third in women’s weight throw with a mark of 18.56 meters, followed by sophomore Tori Tyo in fourth at 18.30 meters. Junior Amelia Lutz took fourth in shot put with a mark of 15.75 meters, and ranks third in DII women’s shot put. 

In men’s track, senior Gabriel Phillips took seventh in the second-fastest heat of the 5K at 14:41.00. Phillips said racing with pace lights that were slower than his usual speed threw off his race. 

“We wanted to try for the school record, and then I got bumped from the fast heat, so I was the fastest person in the second heat, and the lights were a little bit slower than I wanted,” Phillips said. “Typically, I can zone out and disassociate, kind of go to sleep while running, but I was thinking the whole time, so that wasted a lot of energy.”

Senior Ross Kuhn placed fourth in the mile with a time of 4:03.14, and freshman Watson Magwenzi took fourth in the 200-meter open with a time of 22.22. 

Senior Lucy Minning took fifth in the 200m dash with a time of 24.63, and 15th in the 60-meter at 7.72. Freshman Adella Schmoll set a personal best in the 60m hurdles with a time of 9.29, and sophomore Baelyn Zitzmann hit the provisional mark in high jump with a clearance of 1.67 meters.

In pole vault, senior Connor McCormick hit the provisional mark with a clearance of 4.80 meters.

The Chargers will compete next at the University of Michigan’s Silverston Invite Feb. 20 and will host the annual Tune-Up Meet at home Feb. 21 at the Margot V. Biermann Athletic Facility.