Jan. 16, 2006

Grand Valley State had four pole vaulter record NCAA Qualifying marks on Saturday at the Eastern Michigan Invitational. On the women's side, three athletes recorded qualifying marks, while one male athlete did as well.

Senior Brian Beach finished in sixth place with an NCAA Qualifying mark of 15'5.5".

Junior Rachel Duthler and sophomore Lindsey Jones both posted marks of 12'0.5", while freshman Dianna Noonan tallied a mark of 11'5.75." Duthler finished in third place, Jones was fourth, and Noonan placed sixth. The winner was Jen Stuczynski who recorded a world leading mark of 15'4.25". The American Record is 15'9".

"The vaulters got an early start at Eastern Michigan this weekend and recorded solid performances," said head coach Jerry Baltes. "This Friday at our home meet we are looking forward to having our whole team compete at our fifth annual Mike Lints Laker Challenge."

Mike Lints, a Grand Valley State graduate and a former Laker sprint coach, was killed in a car accident in 2001. Each year, alumni and friends return to GVSU to pay tribute to Coach Lints by running an alumni 4x400m at the meet. The Lakers will host the Mike Lints Laker Challenge on Friday, Jan. 20 at 4:00 p.m.