Michigan Tech distance runner Brady Hager runs the 800m during the GLIAC Championships Friday in Allendale, Michigan. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech University)

ALLENDALE, Mich. — The Michigan Tech track & field teams saw nine point scorers and ten personal-bests as the men placed seventh overall and the women placed ninth in the team standings at the GLIAC Championships hosted at Grand Valley State on Thursday and Friday.

The men’s team finished with 20 points for seventh in the team standings as the women’s team took ninth with seven points.

“The GLIAC is very strong on a national level across events and especially in the events where we compete,” said Michigan Tech coach Robert Young. “The experience we get from competing in these fields really helps us develop and I’m proud of how we raced this week.

“Of particular note was how well our 10,000m athletes raced. Every one of them raced smart and extremely well–it would be hard to imagine those races going much better.”

Thursday

Sophomore Sam Shaver clocked a season’s best time of 4:46.24 in the second heat of the women’s 1,500m to earn a spot in the final on Friday.

“Sam Shaver fought very hard to make her 1500 final as well,” said assistant coach Luke Moore. “She closed her last lap in the prelim in 68s and has a very good record of running the last lap very fast and it really paid off for her. In the final, she let the field block the wind for her and fought her way to a new PR. We had a lot of younger athletes who learned a lot and got a quality experience in this meet. I’m sure we can come back stronger next year.”

Senior Hailee Zimpel ran a personal-best in the third heat, taking sixth-place in a time of 4:53.33.

The duo of junior Luke Morrison and senior Lucas Seng both ran little q’s to advance to the final of the men’s metric mile Friday.

Morrison was the final qualifier out of heat two in a time of 4:06.33, using a 1:02.30 final lap to make his first GLIAC Championship final.

Seng makes his second-consecutive 1,500m conference final out of the third heat, taking the final qualifying spot in the race in a time of 4:07.20.

Sophomore Adeline Gobble clocked a personal-best in the final heat of the women’s 800m running 2:22.89 in her first championship meet.

Junior Brady Hager earned a little q in the third heat of the men’s 800m, needing a 1:56.37 to advance to Friday’s final.

“Brady’s weekend in the 800m was a huge highlight,” said Young. “That field was perhaps the strongest of any at this meet. He wasn’t even close to a favorite to make the final, yet he not only got there but took a nice step in that race. Given the challenges of racing that distance in cooler, windy weather like we had, I have to believe there is even more there for him if we can get some good weather next week.”

Senior Claire Endres finished sixth in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase for the second consecutive outdoor championships, improving on last year’s, running 11:08.64.

The Huskies saw two point scorers in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase with fifth-year Stephen Loparo finishing seventh in the race in a season’s best time of 10:03.15 with freshman Kalvin Kytta close behind, finishing in eighth-place in a personal-best time of 10:04.09 in his championship debut.

Senior Ingrid Halverson added three points for the Black and Gold in the nightcap, the 10,000m clocking a personal record time of 36:52.94 for sixth-place while Alisa Teige took 11th overall, also running a personal-best of 38:47.17.

Senior Michael Dennis also took sixth-place, running a personal-best 30:30 in the men’s 10,000m.

Friday

The 1,500m kindled the final day of the championship weekend, seeing Shaver run a new personal-best of 4:43.49, good for ninth in the race.

The breakout season for Hager continued in the 800m final, taking seventh-place in a competitive field, shaving a second and a half off his personal-best, running an even split race for a 1:53.81.

Moore also pointed out just how strong Hager’s races were.

“I was very happy with how Brady handled his races. He had to make his prelim heat go fast if he wanted to make the final,” he said. “He had to take the lead and take the full force of the headwind to make sure he secured the last spot into the final. He was very brave and made it happen. He made the final in a field that was absolutely stacked against him. In the final, he hung on to a very fast pace and soared to a well-deserved PR.”

Seagren won the first heat of the women’s 5,000m in a new personal-best time of 18:00.75, good for 11th in the race.

The men’s squad saw half of its total points come out of the men’s 5,000m led by junior Colman Lenci, who took fourth-place in 14:56.50. Junior Luke Pravecek finished seconds later to claim sixth in a personal record time of 15:00.07, as sophomore Derin Apul took seventh, also clocking a personal record of 15:02.57.

The Huskies finished the meet with both teams coming away with points in the 4x400m relays. The team of Gobble, Zimpel, sophomore Julia Moxey and Shaver took eighth-place in a time of 4:05.65.

Junior Broderick Stewart, freshman Matthias Morse, freshman Caden Karcher and Seng took seventh-place, running 3:27.73.

Up next

The Huskies will be back in action next weekend, traveling to the St. Francis Fighting Chance Invite on May 8-9 in Joliet, Illinois.