Record-Setting Meet At Grand Valley State - GovState At CCAC Championship Meet This Weekend -
Record-Setting Meet At Grand Valley State - GovState Indoor Track Teams At CCAC Championship Meet This Weekend -
GovState Head Coach John Niendorf summarizes the record-setting performances last weekend at the D2, D3, NAIA Meet with 3,000+ competitors, Indoor Track Meet in Michigan.
"This was a historic day for Governors State Track and Field. Multiple school records were broken today and there were massive personal records set on both the men's and women's side of the track. In the women's 5ks, huge personal records were set by both Yahaira Rodriguez and Morgan Pieczynski. Yahaira beat her previous track pr of 20:26 by 1 minute and 15 seconds were her 19:11 5k performance. Morgan ran the race of her life, besting her previous track 5k pr of 19:42 with her massive 18:49 5k at Grand Valley this weekend. Kaylee O'Sullivan and Krysta Stanko also put out solid performances with their respective 18:47 and 18:25 5k times. To the end the day for the women was Sophia Flowers, who crushed the schools 5k record with her 17:41 5k performance. She ran a smart and gutsy race to hit that mark and she put herself at 18th in country for the 5-kilometer distance. I loved the way the women competed out there and it was great to see so many huge pr's from them," said Coach Niendorf
"On the men's side, we had excellent marks achieved as well. Elija Jones and Parker Griffin each hit pr's in their 5k with a 16:18 and 15:55 respectively. This was Parker Griffins first time going sub 16 in a 5k and I was proud of the way he worked through the race. Colin O'Brien beat his previous 15:59 5k outdoor track time with his 15:51 indoor track performance here at GVSU. Alex Ortiz also beat his previous track pr of 16:04, with his 15:47 5k today. Ian French made his freshman 5k debut with a big 15:43 5k. I loved the way Ian attacked his race and competed. French didn't get intimidated or anything like that. He ran a tactically solid race and put a good time out there for him to work from for the rest of the season. Daniel Zavala beat his previous indoor 5k pr of 15:24 by 18 seconds with his 15:06 effort. The school 5k record was broken today by a historic race from Samuel Rocio. He is the first Jaguar to ever go under 15 minutes for the 5k with his 14:59 5k. Sam's previous best 5k was a 15:25 at GVSU last year. I was thrilled for Sam when he crossed the line, and it was nailbiter all the way through the race to see if he was going to go sub 15. He worked through that race with a lot of tenacity and grit. He earned that record this weekend. Overall, I was pleased with the efforts from both the men's and women's races. This was a big day in the history of GSU track and field!"
