Ferris State Opens Action At 2016 GLIAC Outdoor Track Championships

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Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's and women's outdoor track and field squads opened action on Thursday (May 5) in the 2016 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships at FSU's Top Taggart Field.

A total of 16 league schools and more than 800 student-athletes are competing in the event on the Ferris State University campus in Big Rapids. Action began with the multi-events on Wednesday and the meet wraps up with final day action on Friday. The meet is the first on FSU's new track surface.

Junior Emily Haynes led the way for the Bulldog women as she placed fourth overall in the 10,000 meters by turning in a time of 37:16.93. Meanwhile, junior teammate Racheal McDonald also picked up points in the same event by coming in eighth overall at 37:23.50 in the

The Bulldogs' Shea Van Klompenberg qualified for the finals in the women's 400 meters with a time of 57.66 in Thursday's preliminary round.

In addtion, FSU junior Molly Emerick advanced to the finals of the 800 meters as she turned in a qualifying time of 2:15.27 in the prelims of the event.

On the men's side, Ferris State junior Gunnar Meyer took third place in the javelin as he had a throw of 169-7 in the competition. Junior teammate Hayden Francisco narrowly missed scoring in the event by coming in 10th at 158-6.

Bulldog senior Damonta Madden moved to Friday's finals in the 100 meters as he turned in a qualifying time of 10.81 seconds in the prelims. His time in the race was the third-best all-time performance in school outdoor history. Madden also finished 10th in the 200 meters (21.95).

Ferris State's Logan Hammer and Casey Neal both qualified for the finals in the 1,500 meters. Hammer posted the seventh-fastest qualifying time as he was clocked in 4:00.61 while Neal owned the 12th-best time overall at 4:04.62 in the prelims.

Prior to this year, Ferris State last hosted the league outdoor meet in 2010 at Top Taggart Field and also played host to the event in both 2001 and 2006. Overall, this year will mark only the fourth time the Bulldogs have hosted the conference meet in the last 30 years as the event had not been held in Big Rapids since May 1, 1987, prior to the 2001 competition.

The 2016 GLIAC Championships represent the 44th annual men's conference meet and the 36th annual women's outdoor championships. All 16 GLIAC schools are represented.

Final day action gets underway on Friday starting at 11 a.m. (ET) with the meet wrapping up with the awards ceremony around 4 p.m. (ET).