Huskies Collect Two Podium Finishes to Open GLIAC Championships

CALEDONIA, Mich. – The Michigan Tech track & field team saw two podium finishes paired with 12 Huskies advancing into Friday's finals to conclude the first complete day of the GLIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The duo of Huskies that made the podium were Kyle Samluk in the men's 3,000m steeplechase and Hannah Loughlin later in the evening in the women's 10,000m. The two both placed third in their respective events.

"We had a solid day today," head coach Kristina Owen said. "For the events with preliminary heats we set ourselves up nicely for tomorrow's finals."

Loughlin found an extra gear with three laps to go to move up two spots and onto the podium with her last lap being covered in a blistering 1:13.39 for a total time of 36:44.17, under two seconds from the second-place finisher.

"Hannah Loughlin's third-place finish in the 10k was really cool to watch," Owen said. "We recruited her from the MTU soccer team and she's had an amazing progression in personal running. It's fun to see this former team sport athlete excel in an individual event."

Michelle Bollini also put forth an admirable effort, staying within podium contention for the majority of the race before finishing in fourth-place with a time of 36:49.50.

"Michelle ran a brave 10k, hanging with the leaders early through some consecutive laps of a really quick pace," assistant head coach Robert Young said. "She didn't quite have the get up when the pace returned late in the race but held on well. Meanwhile, Hannah ran a very disciplined race at a pace she knew she could sustain."

Samluk held the third-place position for the most of the race, but was challenged on the final lap and had to rely on a kick after the final barrier to secure the final podium spot. His time of 9:14.91 just edged out Grand Valley State's Ryan Mansour, who ran 9:14.93.

Following Samluk's third-place finish, the Huskies earned five additional points in the men's 3,000m steeplechase as Stephen Loparo (9:37.27) and Callen Carrier (9:40.75) placed sixth and seventh, respectively.

"All three of our student-athletes in the men's steeplechase scored points which is pretty noteworthy," Owen mentioned. "Coach Young spearheads that event group and as a former All-American himself, he brings a lot of technical knowledge that has helped those young men take a big step up this year."

Nick McKenize led the Huskies in the final event of the day on the track, coming just shy of making the podium in the men's 10,000m. His time of 31:08.15 earned him fourth in the event to earn five points to the team standings. McKenzie remained among the top group for the majority of the race and it came down to the last lap to decide the third and fourth-place finishers.

"Nick McKenzie produced another strong, steady performance," Young added. "He just consistently improves and produces quality races."

Field Events

In the men's javelin throw, Toby Bonner had himself a day, throwing a new personal-best of 167-9 (51.13m) on his first attempt to advance him to the finals. His first attempt stood as his best throw of the day, placing him fifth in the field. However, his fifth attempt of 164-1 (50.01m) also bested his previous personal-record before today.

"Toby finally had the breakthrough in the javelin that he's been looking for," Young mentioned. "After struggling to put all the parts of his best throws together into one all season, he connected with a couple today."

Landon Cosby earned the Huskies three points following his sixth place finish in the men's pole vault with a clearance of 14-9.5 (4.51m).

"We're really excited by the young talent in our pole vault group, but they struggled today," Owen said. "We've had such a cold wet spring that this is their first time jumping outside in the warm breezy conditions and it really affects pole selection and approach."

Preliminary Rounds

All three Huskies entered in the men's 1,500m preliminary round punched their ticket to the 1,500m finals, taking place on Friday.

Freshman Nik Thomas led the way in the second heat to earn the big Q in 4:00.20. The Duo of Sam Lange and the defending 1,500m GLIAC Outdoor champion, Clayton Sayen, placed third and fourth respectively, clocking times of 4:00.26 and 4:00.45.

"We got to witness the expertise of making a championship final being directly passed down from Clayton and Sam to Nik Thomas as all three auto qualified on the same heat," Young Mentioned.

In the women's 1,500m, Mady VanWieren earned a little q with her time of 4:48.31 coming out of the first heat. Freshman Ingrid Seagren also turned out a performance that qualified her for Friday's 1,500m final, running 4:53.41.

Ashley Plum blasted a personal-best time of 58.88 running in the fastest heat of the preliminary rounds of the 400m to earn the final spot in finals.

Ryan Schwiderson earned second in the first heat of the 100m dash (11.00) to advance to the 100m finals Friday.

The duo of Jesse Jacobusse and Jenna Brewer impressed in the women's 800m as both Huskies advanced into the finals.

Jacobusse clocked in at 2:11.94 to win the first heat and have the second-fastest time in the field. Brewer ran a personal-best to earn the last qualifying spot placing fourth in the first heat (2:15.41).

Andrew Lewis will be competing in the men's 400m hurdles final following his 55.03 finish in the first heat where he took second. Jake Potter will join Lewis in the finals as he placed fourth in the second heat with a time of 58.15.

The 200m dash will showcase two Huskies as Swiderson returned to the track after his 100m to take second in his heat of the 200m, running 21.85 to earn a spot in the finals. On the women's side, Plum continued to have a day at the oval office, earning her second qualifier of the day, running 25.676 to earn a spot in the 200m final.

"Overall we had a good day on the sprints side," graduate assistant Luke Moore said. "Our top athletes qualified for the finals tomorrow and we had some wind legal personal-bests as well. Plum continues to impress, running a massive personal-best in the 400 and is continuing to close the gap on the 200m school record."

Up Next

The Huskies will conclude the GLIAC Outdoor Championships Friday, field events will start at 11 a.m. with running events starting at 12:10 p.m.