Tim SelgoGVSU Athletic Director

Tom O’TooleUSA Today

Greg BrownC.E.O. Learfield Communications

July 2011

GVSPORTS Monthly Magazine • 1

IN THIS ISSUE

14Baseball

Cody Grice Drafted by the

New York Yankees.

65 Things

To Know About Coaching

Throwers

7Building Dedication

GVSU Unveils the Kelly

Family Sports Center.

5Eighth Straight Director’s Cup

AthleticsWomen’s Tennis records its first undefeated regular

season in 2010-11.By: Tim Nott editor in chief

August 2011

Volume 3, Issue 1

Tim Nott

Doug LipinskiDoug Witte

Christine Carson

Courtney ZudwegDJ Foster,

Kyle Scherwin

Jenison PrintingJanine Freeman,

Adam Ingraham,

Sandra Jennings,

Sharon Kowalczyk,

GVSU Sports Information

GV Sports Monthly Magazine is a magazine that focuses on athletics at Grand Valley State University.Copies of the magazine are free to the community and

located on news stands in the greater Grand Rapidsarea. Copies of the magazine are also distributed in

Allendale by the Advance Newspaper. GV Sports Monthly Magazine

GVSU, Fieldhouse

EDITOR IN CHIEF

MANAGING EDITOR

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

ASSISTING EDITOR

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

STAFF WRITERS

PRINTER

CONTRIBUTORS

8Three for Three

Women’s Track & XCGVSU cross country/track & field win three

national championships in 2010-11.By: DJ Foster staff writer

4 Q&A with Charlie Read

6 News in Brief10 The Green Zone13 Player Profiles15 The Grid16 Sandra’s

Snapshot

Senior Allie Tyler helpedthe Lakers to a sixth placefinish in the NCAA GolfChampionships that wereheld at The Meadows GolfCourse in May.Photo courtesy Doug Witte

Former GVSU and currentNotre Dame head footballcoach Brian Kelly speaks toa crowd of over 400 at thededication of the Kelly FamilySports Center on June 25 atGVSU.Photo courtesy Doug Witte

• 4

-Q-

Tell us about your background andhow you ended up at Grand Valley?

-A-When I started college here at Grand Valley

State, I really had no idea what I wanted to do

as a career. I had always loved sports, but I had

never really thought or knew anything about the

business side of sports. So I decided that ac-

counting would be the way to go because I felt

it was the best way for me to get a job after

graduation. It took two years and a couple of

accounting classes to realize that I could never

go into accounting. The turning point came

when I took the Sports Promotion class taught

by Doug Lipinski, GVSU Associate Athletic

Director for Marketing. That class really

opened my eyes to the possibilities of working

in and around sports. I always believed that if

you loved what you do, you’ll never “work” a

day in your life. I loved sports, so I contacted

him about a possible internship, which is how I

ended up here.

-Q-

Tell us a little about your time at GrandValley before you became the ticketand retail services director?

-A-I started as a marketing intern, which lasted

through my senior year of college. Upon grad-

uation, I enrolled in the MBA program here at

GVSU and was able to stay within the market-

ing department as a graduate assistant which

mainly dealt with event planning and corporate

relations. After graduating with my MBA, I be-

came a full-time staff member and oversaw the

launch of Louie’s Locker Room, our gameday

reatil store.

-Q-

As the ticket and retail services director,what are your main responsibilities?

-A-My main responsibilities are summed up pretty

well with my job title. I oversee all aspects of

the ticket operation for athletics with a focus on

all ticket sales: E-Ticketing, ticket packages,

group ticket sales and football season tickets.

My ticketing responsibilities also entail over-

seeing the ticket staff to ensure our fans receive

excellent service. The other half of my position

is tied to Louie’s Locker Room, the merchan-

dising arm of Grand Valley State Atheltics. I am

responsible for the operation of Louie’s Locker

Room which includes venue and website sales,

along with overseeing the Louie’s Locker

Room staff.

-Q-

What are the different ways fans cango about getting their tickets to ath-letic events?

-A-We have gone through some exciting and sig-

nificant changes in relation to how our fans, and

students, can get their ticket/s to our sporting

events. First, fans, including students, will be

able to get tickets to GVSU Athletic events at

both University Bookstore locations on the Al-

lendale and DeVos campuses. Second, we have

dove head first into online ticketing. Fans, stu-

dents, and faculty/staff will be able to secure

tickets to our athletic events at our website,

www.gvsutickets.com. Students will be able to

get their 1 free ticket to any sporting event and

GVSU faculty/staff will be able to purchase

their discounted tickets (GVSU F/S receive a

50% discount on tickets), online. The most ex-

citing part of our online ticketing is our fans

will have the options to print their tickets at

home or even have the tickets sent to their

smartphone. Fans will still be able to get tickets

by calling or stopping by the Athletic Ticket Of-

fice inside the Fieldhouse arena and purchasing

tickets at the event.

-Q-

If fans are interested in purchasing au-thentic GVSU Sports gear, where canthey find it?

-A-

Louie’s Locker Room is the official Merchan-

dise Retailer for GVSU Athletics and is the

first place our fans should look for authentic

GVSU Athletic gear. There are 3 ways fans

can shop at Louie’s Locker Room. First is our

gameday locations. At football, Louie’s

Locker Room has locations inside and outside

of Lubbers Stadium on gamedays that fans

can shop at. During the basketball season,

Louie’s Locker Room has a location inside the

Fieldhouse Arena. Louie’s Locker Room will

also be at various other GVSU sporting

events, including volleyball, soccer, track &

field, etc.

A second place fans can find authentic GVSU

merchandise is at the Allendale UBS location.

The last place that fans can shop at Louie’s

Locker Room is on the web. Fans will no longer

have to wait for gameday or come to campus to

find authentic GVSU athletic apparel. In July,

we will be launching our webstore,

www.louieslockerroom.com, which will also be

the official team store on www.gvsulakers.com.

-Q-

What have been some of the highlightsduring your time at GVSU?

-A-Wow, that is a tough question. There are so

many different things and memories from my

time here that it makes it difficult to pinpoint

any that stand out. If I had to choose I would

say one of my favorite memories is the first

ever Chuck-a-Palooza (which is now Mitch-a-

Palooza). Former Head Football Coach Chuck

Martin really gave us the idea to have a mid-

night madness event for football; however, I

don’t think he expected us to take it and run

with it. Before the event I really thought Chuck-

a-Palooza would either be a smashing success

or a complete dud. We put a ton of work into

coordinating this unique event, but it was still

a football practice at midnight. It turned out to

be an unforgettable night with about 1,000 peo-

ple and is now an annual event.

-Q-

What do you enjoy most about yourjob?

-A-The answer to this question can be summed up

with one word: everything. Working around

sports, with great people, and in a fun and chal-

lenging position; it doesn’t get much better than

that.

Charlie Readt icket and retai l services

director

QUESTION & ANSWER

• 5

Grand Valley State claimed tophonors in the LearfieldSports Directors' Cup stand-

ings for the eighth consecutive year itwas announced today by the NationalAssociation of Collegiate Directorsof Athletics (NACDA) in Orlando,Fla. Grand Valley State scored a DIIrecord 1,057.50 points, outdistancingsecond-place Central Missouri(779.75) by 277.75 points. Augustana(S.D.) finished third (761.50), Abi-lene Christian (Tex.) fourth (718.00)and Adams State (Colo.) fifth(696.00). Ashland finished ninth(624.00) as the GLIAC was the onlyDII league in the country to have twoteams finish in the top 10. TheLearfield Sports Directors' Cup tro-phy, which is commonly known asthe all-sports trophy, is presented tothe top athletic department in thecountry. The scoring system is basedon the national finishes of sevenmen's and seven women's sports.

"This is an accomplishmentthat really reflects on the quality ofthe student-athletes, coaches and sup-port staff we have at Grand ValleyState," said athletic director, TimSelgo. "This is a school award and weare proud to represent Grand ValleyState University," added Selgo.

GVSU finished with 1057.50points and was able to tally points inthe maximum of 14 sports (7 men's,

7 women's). The Lakers placed a totalof 17 teams in postseason play duringthe 2010-11 academic year, with arecord 13 teams finishing in the top10 nationally. In addition, four teamsclaimed NCAA DII National Cham-pionships (women's soccer, women'scross country, women's indoor track& field and women's outdoor track &field) and the Lakers became the firstschool in NCAA history, regardlessof division, to win the NationalChampionship three-peatof women's cross country,indoor track & field andoutdoor track & field inthe same academic year.GVSU used consistencythroughout each season,collecting 411.00 points inthe fall, 292.00 points inthe winter and 354.50points in the spring. TheLaker women scored615.50 points, while themen scored 442.00 points.GVSU averaged 72.50points per sport, includingan incredible 87.92 pointsper women's sport. TheGVSU men averaged63.14 points per sport.

In addition to thefour National Champi-onships, GVSU finishedthird in men's cross coun-

try, fifth in volleyball, sixth inwomen's golf, seventh in both base-ball and men's swimming and diving,ninth in football, softball, women'stennis and women's swimming &diving. The men's outdoor track &field team finished 16th, while themen's indoor team claimed 20th.Men's golf was 21st and women'sbasketball was 33rd. GVSU did notcount the points scored by softball(64), women's tennis (64) andwomen's basketball (25). Grand Val-ley State also claimed six NCAA DIIGreat Lakes Regional crowns.

GVSU's eight LearfieldSports Directors' Cup titles are topsamong all NCAA DII school's andthe 2010-11 campaign marked thefourth straight year that Grand ValleyState has eclipsed the 1,000-pointtotal. GVSU now owns the top sixpoint totals in DII Directors' Cup to-tals.

Grand Valley State alsoclaimed the GLIAC's President's Cupfor the 13th straight year, winning 12GLIAC Championships.

All eight of GVSU’s Directors’ Cup Trophies reside in

the Fieldhouse Arena Lobby at GVSU.

Grand Valley State

Wins Eighth Straight

Learfield Sports

Directors’ Cup TitleBy Tim Nott

via gvsulakers.com

Athletic director Tim Selgo (left) led GVSU to its first Directors’ Cup Title in 2003-04after finishing second in 2001-02 and 02-03.

Directors’ Cup Rankings

Fall Sports

Sport . . . . . . . . . . . National Finish

W Cross Country . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st

Soccer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st

M Cross Country . . . . . . . . . . . . 3rd

Volleyball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5th

Football . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9th

Winter Sports

W Track & Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st

M Swimming & Diving . . . . . . . . 7th

W Swimming & Diving . . . . . . . . 9th

M Track & Field . . . . . . . . . . . . 20th

W Basketball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33rd

Spring Sports

W Track & Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st

W Golf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6th

Baseball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7th

Softball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9th

W Tennis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9th

M Track & Field . . . . . . . . . . . . 16th

M Golf. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21st

• 6

Single Game Tickets are on Sale

GVSU Football single game tickets are now onsale. Tickets can be purchased online by visitingwww.gvsutickets.com or by calling 616-331-3200. Season tickets are still on sale, Packagesstart at just $60 for six games.

Website Redesign

Visit gvsulakers.com to check out the new lookof the website.

Laker Alerts

Would you like to receive GVSports Magazinein your email box each month? Get a copy ofGVSports sent directly to you by signing up forLaker Alerts. Go to www.gvsulakers.com andclick on the Laker Alert icon on the main pageand you’ll get a digital copy of the mag sent toyour email.

Matt Mitchell Website

Check out Mattmitchellgvsu.com the officialsite of head football coach Matt Micthell.

Marketing and Promotions Earns Awards

The winners were presented their awards duringNACMA’s 20th Annual Convention in June .Grand Valley State University’s athletic market-ing office earned awards in seven of the sixteencategories. GVSU won one gold award, threesilver awards and three bronze awards. Since

2006, GVSU has taken home 34 NACMAawards. (eight gold, 15 sivler, 11 bronze)

GVSU Lakers Fan Page

Become a fan of Grand Valley State Athleticson Facebook! You can find the fan page atwww.facebook.com/gvsulakers, or search“Grand Valley State Lakers”. Check out thenew tabs for “Laker Update” and “sports” to getall the latest updates on GVSU athletics, alongwith interactive content such as videos and pho-tos.

Throwers  happen  to  be  some  of  the  bestathletes on the entire track team.Most people do not realize that throwers are some of thefastest and most explosive athletes on the track team, andmaybe the entire athletic department. We have athletesthat are capable of running faster than some of our sprint-ers and are able to jump higher than some high jumpers.In the past 5 years we have had throwers that have beatenour top sprinters in 30m dashes and also jumped onto the52” box.

Its not just about brute force.Throwing is one of, if not the most technical event groupsfor the entire track team. We have 5 events: the discus, shotput, hammer/weight throw, and javelin. We spend manyhours and countless amounts of throws throughout theseason to perfect and hone each technique.

Throwing things far is just plain fun.With each event the distance someone is able to throw isvery different. We have had athletes that have thrown 20lbweights 67 feet, 16lb shots 63 feet, a 2 kilo discus 207 feet,and 4 kilo and 16lb hammers over 200ft. Having the abilityto throw that far is great and the feeling of something fly-ing from your hands is an awesome feeling.

We aren’t in the weight room lifting for thefun of it.Our throwers are in the weight room anywhere from 1-2hours 3-4 times a week. Our philosophy is that what we doin the weight room must translate into our throws and tech-nique. Whether it is doing Olympic lifts like the clean andsnatch, or plate twists and single leg step-ups, they will alltransfer into our technique and throws.

Not your average teamThe Laker throwers accounted for 4 individual national ti-tles as well as 12 all-american honors during the 10-11 sea-sons. The women throwers accounted for 41% of the pointstowards the indoor and outdoor national championships.

5THINGS YOU SHOULDKNOWABOUTGVSUTHROWERSBY  CORY  YOUNG, TRACK  AND  FIELD

N E W S I N B R I E F

• 7

The Kelly Family Sports Center was

unveiled today in a building dedi-

cation ceremony on the campus of

Grand Valley State University. The Kelly

Family Sports Center, formerly known as

the Laker Turf Building, opened for oper-

ation in the fall of 2008. Brian Kelly, the

current head football coach at Notre

Dame, was the head football coach at

Grand Valley State for 13 years (1991-

2003), leading the Lakers to a 118-35-2

mark with two NCAA DII Football Na-

tional Championships (2002 and 2003).

The Kelly Family Sports Center dedica-

tion was held before an overflow crowd of

more than 400 family, friends and support-

ers at the Kelly Family Sports Center.

In addition to Kelly's sterling 118-

35-2 overall mark, he guided the Lakers to

a 103-22-2 Great Lakes Intercollegiate

Athletic Conference record. Brian guided

GVSU to five GLIAC titles, six NCAA

DII playoff appearances and his teams

won eight or more games 10 times during

his 13-year career. Kelly tutored 60 All-

Americans, including a single-season

record 11 All-Americans during the 2002

championship season. Brian led GVSU to

the NCAA DII National Championship

game in 2001, followed by back-to-back

DII National Championships in 2002 and

2003. Kelly, who was named the Ameri-

can Football Coaches Association DII Na-

tional Coach of the Year twice (2002-03),

turned GVSU into an offensive machine

as his 2001 squad averaged 58.4 points

and 600.8 yards per game.

"This is a tremendous honor to

have our family name adorn such an im-

pressive building that serves multiple de-

partments on the campus," said Kelly.

"Grand Valley State will always have a

special place in the hearts of Paqui and I

because of our history with the school and

the way the community embraced our

family. Many of our fondest memories

stem from our time at Grand Valley and it

is truly an honor for all of us to be associ-

ated with the university in this way," added

Kelly.

The entire Kelly family made an

impact at GVSU as Brian and his wife,

Paqui, met while both were employed at

Grand Valley. Brian was an assistant foot-

ball coach and Paqui worked in the Finan-

cial Aid Office where she served as a

financial aid counselor from 1989-1992.

Paqui received her master's degree in ed-

ucation from Grand Valley in 1998.

Patrick, Grace and Kenzel, the three Kelly

children, were born while Brian was the

head football coach at

GVSU and enjoyed par-

ticipating in campus ac-

tivities with their

parents.

Grand Valley State President

Thomas J. Haas said Brian Kelly made

great contributions to the success of Laker

athletics and also Grand Valley State Uni-

versity.

"His teams and victories helped

establish the future of athletics for Grand

Valley," Haas said. "So it is only fitting

that this building, which serves all our stu-

dents, should be named for the Kelly fam-

ily."

The Kelly Family Sports Center

is a 138,000 square foot building that

houses a regulation football field, a six-

lane, 300-meter track, all of the amenities

for field events, batting cages that drop

from the ceiling, an athletic training room,

lockerrooms, multi-purpose rooms, class-

rooms, bleacher seating for 800 in the

grandstand and bleachers on the field level

for another 260 spectators. In addition to

intercollegiate athletics, the movement sci-

ence department, campus recreation/intra-

murals and club sports also use the facility.

"Our success in Laker Athletics

can be directly attributed to the standards

set by Brian Kelly during his coaching

tenure at Grand Valley State University,"

said Tim Selgo, GVSU's Director of Ath-

letics. "Brian and Paqui have continued to

express their support and love for GVSU

wherever Brian's career has taken them.

We are honored to dedicate and name this

facility for the Kelly family."

Kelly, who was inducted into the

Grand Valley State Athletic Hall of Fame

in 2009, was the head coach at Central

Michigan for three years (2004-06) and

the University of Cincinnati for three years

(2007-09) after leaving Grand Valley

State. He led the Fighting Irish of Notre

Dame to an 8-4 mark in his first year at the

helm in 2010.

GVSU Unveils The Kelly Family Sports CenterBy Tim Nott via gvsulakers.com

"This is a tremendous honor to have our familyname adorn such an impressive building that servesmultiple departments on the campus." -Brian Kelly

• 8

Call it a hat trick, a trifecta, orthe triple crown. Whateveryou call it, the Grand Valley

State women’s running programs(cross country, indoor track and field,and outdoor track and field) com-pleted the feat at the end of May, asLaker head coach Jerry Baltes and hisstaff coached GVSU to its third Divi-sion II National Championship in the2010-11 school year.

Not only did the Lakers cap-ture their third national title of theyear with a 14.5-point margin of vic-tory over Lincoln (the same teamGVSU outscored in the indoor trackand field competition in March), butGrand Valley State made NCAA his-tory with the win. The GVSUwomen’s program became the firstteam in the history of the NCAA (Di-vision I, II, or III) to win the crosscountry, indoor track and field, andoutdoor track and field nationalchampionships in the same academicyear.

“It is pretty special knowingno other NCAA women’s programhas won all three in the same aca-demic year,” explained Baltes. “I wasso happy forthis team tobecome thefirst ever todo so. I feltour student-athletes had asense of con-fidence thatthey were notgoing to be denied the final piece ofthe puzzle.”

That puzzle was put togetherby a terrific coaching staff, withBaltes leading the way. The UnitedStates Track & Field and Cross Coun-try Coaches Association (USTFC-CCA) recognized theaccomplishments of Baltes, his staff,and the Laker student-athletes to the

point that Baltes was named the Na-tional Coach of the Year in all threewomen’s sports: cross country, indoortrack and field, and outdoor track andfield.

Baltes’ top two assistants alsoreceived some befitting acknowl-edgement. Joe Lynn was tabbedas the National Men’s Trackand Field Assistant Coach ofthe Year, while Cory Youngearned National Women’sTrack and Field AssistantCoach of the Year honors.

Perhaps an even moreincredible part of winning thetriple crown is that the nationalchampionships in all threesports were the first national ti-tles for each program. In secur-ing the hat trick, the GVSUwomen were named the UST-FCCCA Division II NationalProgram of the Year for thethird straight year, this timewith a perfect score of threepoints (one point apiece for all threetitles).

“A year ago, we were talkingabout what it would be like to win

one (champi-onship),” Baltesdescribed. “To winall three means somuch for everyoneinvolved in ourprogram. It takes alot of hard workand a little luck towin one in a life-

time, so to win all three this year justgoes to show how hard our staff andstudent-athletes have worked to get tothis point.”

Grand Valley State’s quest forthree titles began in early Decemberin Louisville, as the Lakers foughtthrough snowy conditions to claimthe Division II Cross Country Na-tional Championship. The senior duo

of Katherine McCarthy and MeganMaceratini each registered top-10 fin-ishes, with McCarthy placing fourthoverall with a time of 21:10.6. Mac-eratini crossed the finish line with atime of 21:34.3 for her top-10 tally.GVSU, which scored 66 points to

outdistance second-place WesternState’s total of 95 points, also hadthree runners finish in the 20-30range. Rebecca Winchester (22nd),Kylen Cieslak (26th), and Julia

Nowak (27th) helped close out thescoring for the Lakers. All five run-ners (plus Monica Kinney and JessieVickers) earned All-America status.

“Winning the championshipin Louisville was special because wewere fortunate to share it with so

many people,” Baltes com-mented. “Our entire team wasthere to add to the excitement,our administration was present,our volleyball team was at themeet cheering us on, and ahandful of alums, parents, andfriends were in attendance. Theexcitement and energy was justincredible.”

Fast forward to Albuquerque,New Mexico in the middle ofMarch, where Grand ValleyState picked up its largest win(by margin) in its three nationalchampionship competitions.The team’s 32-point victoryover second-place Lincoln(Mo.) gave GVSU the Division

II Indoor Track and Field NationalChampionship.

In addition to the team trophy,the Lakers picked up three individualnational championships, as Kinney

Grand Valley State Women’s Cross Country

and Track and Field Finish A Perfect 3-For-3 in 2010-11

Women’s Cross Country

Dec. 4 in Louisville, Kentucky

1st - GVSU - 66 points (29-point win)4th - Katherine McCarthy - 4 points9th - Megan Maceratini - 7 points

22nd - Rebecca Winchester - 16 points26th - Kylen Cieslak - 19 points27th - Julia Nowak - 20 points

Women’s Indoor Track & Field

Mar. 11-12 in Albuquerque, New Mexico

1st - GVSU - 83 points (32-point win)1st - Monica Kinney (Mile) - 10 points

1st - Monica Kinney (500m run) - 10 points1st - Lauren Buresh (Shot put) - 10 points

2nd - Chanelle Caldwell (800m run) - 8 points2nd - Sam Lockhart (Shot put) - 8 points

3rd - Monica Kinney, Julia Nowak, Madie Rodts,Kayla Vallar (Distance Medley Relay) - 6 points

3rd - Jocelyn Kuksa (Pole Vault) - 6 points3rd - Liz Murphy (Weight Throw) - 6 points

4th - Eileen Creutz (Mile) - 5 points4th - Kristen Hixson (Pole Vault) - 5 points

4th - Sam Lockhart (Weight Throw) - 5 points6th - Rebecca Winchester (Mile) - 3 points8th - Jamie Smith (Weight Throw) - 1 point

Members of the women’s track & field program with their nationalchampionship trophy in Turlock, California

recorded first-place finishes in boththe mile and the 5000-meter run. Kin-ney’s two titles coupled with LaurenBuresh’s national championship inthe shot put gave Grand Valley State30 big points towards the team total.The Lakers also recorded a pair ofsecond-place finishes, as ChanelleCaldwell was the runner-up in the800-meter run and Sam Lockhartfinished just behind Buresh in theshot put competition. Three morethird-place tallies, three fourths, asixth, and an eighth brought GrandValley State’s point total to 83, wellabove the other 49 competingschools.

“The indoor championshipwas great because we did it in suchdominating fashion, winning by 32points,” said Baltes. “We had a lot tocelebrate, highlighted by the 1-2 fin-ish in the shot put by Lauren andSam, along with Monica’s two indi-vidual championships.”

To cap off the triple crown,the Lakers continued their year-longdominance by tallying 82.5 points atthe Outdoor Track and Field Cham-pionships in Turlock, Calif. on May26-28. GVSU again bested Lincoln(Mo.), as well as the rest of the com-

petition, for its third Division II Na-tional Championship of the year.

Grand Valley State used acomplete team performance at theOutdoor Track and Field Champi-onships, as the Lakers turned in a

dozen top-five finishes, including twomore individual national titles. Bu-resh again had the top throw in theshot put, garnering her second cham-pionship in three months, while own-

ing the three longest throws in the en-tire competition. Joining Buresh withan individual national championshipwas Liz Murphy, who was the Divi-sion II champion in the hammerthrow, winning the title on her very

first toss.Kinney tallied a run-

ner-up performance inthe 1500-meter run,while Kristen Hixsonalso placed second in thepole vault. Totalingthird-place finishes wereLockhart (shot put),Caldwell (800-meterrun), and McCarthy(1500-meter run).

Although it is clearlya team competition,Grand Valley State hadseveral student-athletesrecord points at two ofthe three national cham-pionships. Baltes knowsthat it took these individ-uals to get over the top,

but feels the Lakers needed a greatmix of athletes to win all three titles.

“We had some great perform-ances over the three championships.Of course we try to keep the focus on

the team aspect, but these individualperformances help the good of theteam,” noted Baltes. “Kinney and Bu-resh were outstanding in both win-ning two NCAA individual titles,while Murphy won the first title ofher Laker career. At the end of theday, we were able to win all three be-cause we had the right mix of top-endscorers and depth to go with a greatcompetitive mindset.”

For a program that was a per-fect 3-for-3 in National Champi-onship competition this past year, theobvious next question (with perhapsan impossibly difficult answer) iswhat do you do for an encore? Baltesbelieves he knows the answer.

“From here we keep aboutour business, keep working hard, andtry to get a little bit better each andevery day,” Baltes stated. “There isno magic to the profession. Successcomes from having the right mindset,coupled with competitive and tal-ented student-athletes that work hardevery day, while being patient andpersistent toward the end goal. Wewill keep working in this manner totry to help each student-athlete reachtheir full potential by the end of theircareer.”

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Women’s Outdoor Track & Field

May 26-28 in Turlock, California

1st - GVSU - 82.5 points (14.5-point win)1st - Lauren Buresh (Shot Put) - 10 points

1st - Liz Murphy (Hammer Throw) - 10 points2nd - Monica Kinney (1500m run) - 8 points2nd - Kristen Hixson (Pole Vault) - 8 points

3rd - Chanelle Caldwell (800m run) - 6 points3rd - Katherine McCarthy (1500m run) - 6 points

3rd - Sam Lockhart (Shot put) - 6 points4th - Eileen Creutz (1500m run) - 5 points

4th - Chanelle Caldwell, Adrienne Chandler, Aileen Lemanski, Kayla Vallar (4x400m relay) - 5 pointsT-4th - Jocelyn Kuksa (Pole Vault) - 4.5 points

5th - Jamie Smith (Discus) - 4 points5th - Alyssa Zokoe (Hammer Throw) - 4 points6th - Rebecca Winchester (Steeplechase) - 3 points7th - Karie McDonald (Steeplechase) - 2 points

8th - Eileen Creutz (5000m run) - 1 point

Men’s reg. MVP price: $21. Boys (10 & Under) reg. MVP price: $17. Not valid with any other offer. Coupon may not be bartered, traded, or sold.

$7 OFF MEN’S or BOYS’ SIGNATURE

MVP HAIRCUTStandale Retail Center

Corner of Wilson & Lake Michigan Dr.

OUR MVP HAIRCUT INCLUDES ALL THIS!

• 11

• 13

PLAYER PROFILESWhy did you choose to

become a Laker?

Who has had the

biggest impact on your

sports career?

Would you rather go

sky diving or bungee

jumping?

Which do you prefer,

summer or winter?

What as been your most

memorable moment at

GV so far?

Favorite Pro Athlete?

HEATH

PARL INGCHELSEA

PARISEyear

SOPHOMOREmajor

SECONDARY EDUCATION

hometown

Plymouth, Mich.sport

FOOTBALL

year

JUNIORmajor

Criminal Justicehometown

Sterling Heights, Mich.

sport

SOCCER

FAVORITE...

Food

Movie

Song

Sports Team

Outstanding academic institutions and excellent

athletic tradition.

TAKING IT ONE GAME AT A TIME

We’re committed to helping athletes become stronger and more determined

achievers. That’s why PNC is a proud sponsor of GVSU Athletics.

©2011 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved. PNC Bank, National Association. Member FDIC

COMMSERV AD FEB 2011 011

To find a location near you, visit us online at pnc.com or call 1-888-PNC-BANK.

My Mother (always supportingme to participate in athletics)

Steak

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

GVSU Fight Song

Detroit Lions

Fettine-Italian Delicacy

Miracle

I won’t let go - Rascal Flatts

The GVSU Women’s Soccer Team!

Sky Diving

Summer

Traveling with the team to the2009 NCAA D2 Championship

game.

Steve Yzerman

The campus, atmosphere, success, girls on the soccer teamalong with the coaches.

My Mama :)

I want to do both, but if I had tochoose then I would rather gobungee jumping.

Summer

I have two. The ‘09 and ‘10 national championship games.

Tim Howard - ProfessionalGoalkeeper

• 14

Cody Grice Drafted by The New York Yankeesby Kyle Schwerin staff writer

Grand Valley State junior center

fielder Cody Grice was a 12th

round selection by the New

York Yankees in the 2011 Major League

Baseball draft on June 7th. Grice was

the 389th overall pick, the fourth-high-

est Laker drafted in school history and

the first GVSU player drafted since

2003.

Grice, who was named an

American Baseball Coaches Associa-

tion Second Team All-American and the

GLIAC Player of the Year in 2011, hit

.381 with 69 hits, 14 doubles, five

triples, four home runs, 59 RBI and 23

stolen bases. Cody established a GVSU

career-record for runs scored with 170

and led GVSU to a school-single season

record for wins (52) and consecutive

wins (32) in 2011. In addition, Grice

was a key figure in the Lakers' making

two appearances in the DII World Se-

ries.

"We are extremely proud of

Cody and what he accomplished at

Grand Valley State," said GVSU's all-

time winningest baseball coach, Steve

Lyon. "Cody worked very hard on be-

coming the best baseball player he could

from the time he arrived on campus and

he was rewarded for his efforts."

Grice was the fourth highest

draft pick from GVSU, behind Matt

Thornton (22nd overall, 1998), Greg

Cadaret (267th overall, 1983) and Rod

Brunelle (382nd overall, 1985). He's the

first Laker to be drafted since 2003

when Joe Brunink was taken 445th

overall.

Grice signed with the Yankees

and was assigned to the Staten Island

Yankees of the New York Penn League,

one of New York’s Single-A affiliates.

After cracking the lineup as the desig-

nated hitter in his first game with MLB

star Phil Hughes pitching for Staten Is-

land on a rehab assignment, Grice be-

came the focal point of a couple

victories for his team. Grice drew a

walk in that first game against Brooklyn

and then collected his first career hit,

run and RBI in the next game against

Hudson Valley. Grice went 2-for-4 with

one run, one RBI and a double in an 8-

3 victory.

Following that performance,

Grice was a part of the game win-

ning runs in the next two consec-

utive games. Against Hudson

Valley, Grice had the game-win-

ning sacrifice fly in the bottom of

the 12th inning of a 1-0 victory,

hitting a fly ball to center field

that scored the lone run. Speaking

about the play, Grice said “I saw

the pitcher walk the batter in front

of me on four pitches, so I really

thought all the pressure was on

him. He fell behind me 3-0 and I

took the next two pitches for

strikes. I saw five straight fast-

balls, so I was ready to swing

away. The pitch was a little up,

but I put a pretty good swing on

it. It felt great to help us get a

win.”

In the next game, Grice went 1-

for-4 with one walk and one run scored,

the game-winning run in the top of the

10th inning of a 3-2 win over Aberdeen.

After drawing a walk in the top of the

inning, Grice moved to third on a single

and then scored on a ground ball. Grice

also stole his first career base in the vic-

tory.

Through his first four career

games, Grice is hitting .267 with two

runs, two RBI and two walks with one

stolen base. He ranks third on the team

in batting average among players with

at least 15 at-bats and is tied for second

on the team with his two RBI.

Cody Grice was drafted in the 12th round(389th overall) of the MLB draft.

• 15

Pool, I’m not a big sand guy.

a time to enjoy the great sum-

mer weather and everything

else Michigan has to offer!

BeachMostly pool, but if Iload up on sunscreenI can spend some timeat the beach as well.

Preparing for our events begin-ning with the football game on

Sept. 1 vs. Western Oregon!

What are you doing

to get ready for the

fall season to start?

What is your predic-

tion on the upcoming

season?

Finish this sentence:

Summer is...

What is your favorite

summer activity?

Pool or beach?

Tim Selgo

Athletic DirectorPettisville, OH.

July

Golfing

a great time of year tospend with friends and

family.

Going to my grandpar-ent’s cottage on Hamlin

Lake in Ludington.

Planning and

organizing different

aspects of game

operations

Spending time with family andfriends at a pool or lake.

I expect to start offwhere we left last yearand hope to defend our

national title.

That all Grand Valley student-athletes will be

successful on and off theplaying surface.

The Lakers willput forth theirbest effort!

taking summerclasses... jk.

We’re going to doawesome!

Pool, there’s no sand.

way too hot.a time to spend outdoors withfamily and friends.

Getting in some base mileage toestablish an aerobic foundation

that will carry me throughout the upcoming seasons

Jamie Schlagel

Asst. AD Game and Event Ops.

North Branch, Minn.

A lot of volleyball, cardio and lifting.

Monica Kinney

Track and Cross CountryWalker, Mich.

Eno Umoh

VolleyballWyoming, Mich.

• 16

SANDRA’S SNAPSHOT

“Transforming one seat at a time!”Construction of the South student bleacher section at Lubbers Stadium for the upcoming season.

Sandra Jennings is an Administrative Assistant in the athletic department.

2011 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Sept. 1 Western Oregon 7:00 pm

Sept. 10 at Hillsdale 7:00 pm

Sept. 17 at Indianapolis 6:00 pm

Sept. 24 Findlay 7:00 pm

Oct. 1 Tiffin 7:00 pm

Oct. 8 at Northern Michigan 1:00 pm

Oct. 15 at Lake Erie 7:00 pm

Oct. 22 Ferris State 7:00 pm

Oct. 29 Michigan Tech 7:00 pm

Nov. 5 at Northwood 12:00 pm

Nov. 12 Saginaw Valley State 1:00 pm

SEASON TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW

STARTING AT JUST $60 FOR SIX GAMES