#3 Grand Valley State Men's Cross Country Earns Best-Ever National Finish, Places Third

Louisville, Ky. - In a strong overall performance on Saturday morning (Dec. 4), the #3 Grand Valley State men's cross country team earned its best finish in program history, as the Lakers placed third at the Division II National Championship meet at the Division II Fall Festival in Louisville, Ky. Three GVSU runners placed in the top-30, with juniors Anthony Witt (15th) and Tyler Emmorey (17th) captured top-20 finishes.

Grand Valley State had taken home a fifth-place finish in each of the past two seasons and been in the top-five finishers each of the last five years. The Lakers' top finish before this year was a fourth-place tally in both 2005 and 2007. GVSU used a very good team performance to place third with 135 points, finishing behind national champion Adams State (57 points) and second-place finisher, Western State (102). Colorado School of Mines (161) and Chico State (181) rounded out the top-five schools.

Laker head coach Jerry Baltes, who followed the men's race with the Division II National Championship in the women's face, was very pleased with GVSU's performances on Saturday. "This is an outstanding day for GVSU cross country," said Baltes, in his 12th year at the helm of the Laker program. "Our men started the day with the best finish (third-place) in school history. Then the women executed a perfect race plan to capture our first national championship."

Pacing the Lakers were Witt and Emmorey, a pair of juniors who recorded top-20 finishes in leading GVSU to its third place tally. Witt crossed the line at the 31:13.0 mark, earning a 15th place finish, while Emmorey placed 17th overall with a time of 31:13.9.

Three more GVSU runners were in the top-45 individual runners. Junior Paul Zielinski came in 29th place, crossing the line at 31:29.9, while fellow junior Ryan Toth earned a 39th place finish, as he had a time of 31:38.0. Sophomore Stephen Fuelling followed right after Toth with a time of 31:39.9, placing 41st overall.

GVSU had two other runners not record points for the Lakers, but also turned in fine performances. Junior Jeff Nordquist was 61st with a time of 31:59.0, while freshman Larry Julson placed 76th, crossing the finish line in a time of 32:16.0.

"We are very proud of all of our student-athletes," continued Baltes. "This accomplishment is a tribute to all the hard work everyone has put in over the last year and even over the course of the careers of our upperclassmen. I also want to recognize and thank all of our alumni over the years that have helped lay the groundwork to get us to this point. We are all very proud to be Lakers today!"