SPORTS | A7
MARCH 19, 2018 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVSPORTS
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FOOTBALL
GV SWIM AND DIVE COMPETES IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
The Grand Valley State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed in the 2018 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, as the top finishing GLIAC members for both the men and women. The Laker men finished 11th with 136 points, while the women finished 15th with 81 points. Queens (North Carolina) won both the men’s and women’s titles. The competition started Wednesday, March 14, and concluded Saturday, March 17. The Laker men turned in an outstanding final night at the NCAA Championships with four top-10 finishes. Harry Shalamon picked up another All-America honor with his third-place finish in the 200-meter backstroke, hitting the wall in 1:44.73. Marius Mikalauskas added an All-America honor in the 200-meter breaststroke with a fourth-place finish in 1:56.63. GVSU’s 400-meter freestyle relay team of Shalamon, J.D. Ham, Liam Little and Ben Walling earned All-America honors with a 15th-place finish in 3:00.5, and four divers earned All-America honors on the three-meter board. Jared Gregory tallied an eighth-place finish with a score of 473.90, followed by Jared Bergerin in 10th (468.90), Christopher Kelly in 14th (438.35) and Joe Gucwa in 16th (429.50). Walling finished 23rd in the 100-meter freestyle (44.59), and Ahmed Nabih was 22nd in the 200-meter breaststroke. Melina Goebel earned All-America honors in the 1,650-meter freestyle when she touched the wall ninth in a time of 16:52.72, while Sam Postmus concluded her collegiate career as an All-American with a 16thplace finish in the 100-meter backstroke, hitting the wall in 2:03.00. Celia Hoag finished 25th in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:19.83. The men’s team finished its season with a 9-3 overall record and the 2018 GLIAC Championship, while the women finished with an 8-5 overall record and a secondplace trophy from the GLIAC Championship.
Lakers prove their football worth on pro day NFL DREAMS: On Thursday, March 15, multiple GVSU football seniors—highlighted by NFL-bound prospects like tight end Nick Keizer, receivers Brandon Bean and Urston Smith, and linebacker Garrett Pougnet—showcased their skills in front of 20 various NFL scouts in the Kelly Family Sports Center. GVL | ROBBIE TRIANO BY BRADY MCATAMNEY ASSISTANTSPORTS@LANTHORN.COM
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ithout a doubt, one of the most highly anticipated events in sports every spring is the National Football League Draft. Every April, the top college football players in the country nervously await to hear their phones ring with confirmation that they’ve been selected or have garnered interest in being signed to a professional contract. Without months of behind-thescenes preparation and workouts leading up to the big day, no players (or teams) would have any idea what route they might be taking. That’s where pro days come in, and
on Thursday, March 15, Grand Valley State held its very own to showcase the abundant talent encased in the university’s historic program. Scouts from 20 different NFL teams—including the Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets and San Diego Chargers—filed into the Kelly Family Sports Center in Allendale to watch multiple Laker seniors. These seniors included tight end Nick Keizer, linebacker Garrett Pougnet, and wide receivers Brandon Bean and Urston Smith, who participated in different drills and workouts to showcase their athleticism and overall football ability. “You hope the best for your players,” said GVSU football head coach Matt Mitchell. “You put the time and effort into getting to this point,
so you just hope that everyone is 100 percent. For me, organizing this day with the scouts and everything is just about giving our guys a platform. You just want to see kids that you know take advantage of it.” Some of the many drills each player participated in included the bench press (225 pounds), vertical jump, broad jump, shuttle run and route running/pass catching. After the day, the players seemingly impressed the handful of scouts in attendance—and felt good doing so. “Overall, I’m pretty satisfied,” Keizer said. “It didn’t go perfect; wish I could have run a little bit better on the 40. Had a couple slipups on the L-drill with those cones, but overall I was pretty satisfied with my performance. I felt pre-
pared coming in. It’s never going to be perfect exactly. I did the best I could. That’s all I can really ask for.” The 6-foot-5-inch player put on a worthy performance during pro day and, as of now, is the most likely Laker to be drafted, according to Mitchell. Even with his 4.4-second pro agility, 4.75-second 40-yard dash, 10-foot-1-inch broad jump and 32-inch vertical leap—above average numbers for the tight end position—Keizer’s 27 reps on the 225-pound bench press was his most impressive stat of the day. At the NFL Draft Combine last month, the largest number by a tight end was 23. That really blew SEE PRO | A8
GV QUIDDITCH CLUB QUALIFIES FOR US QUIDDITCH CUP 11
Grand Valley State’s coed club quidditch team qualified for the US Quidditch Cup 11, the Harry Potter version of the NCAA National Championship Tournament. The team clinched its spot after a game Monday, March 12. GVSU’s team—also known as the Grindylows—is one of 27 teams around the country that qualified for the tournament. The top 16 eligible college teams and the top 11 community teams in the US Quidditch league have been offered bids into this year’s US Quidditch Cup 11. Other notable schools that made the cut include Baylor, Michigan State, Arizona State and West Virginia. The tournament will take place Saturday, April 14, and Sunday, April 15, in Round Rock, Texas.
SIX MEMBERS OF GV MEN’S DIII CLUB HOCKEY SELECTED FOR ALL-STAR GAME
GETTING SET: Urston Smith talks to NFL scouts from the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers before perfoming in the vertical jump drill Thursday, March 15. GVL | ROBBIE TRIANO
AROUND THE CORNER: Receiver Urston Smith sprints around to the finish line during the three-cone drill Thursday, March 15, in the Kelly Family Sports Center. GVL | ROBBIE TRIANO
REACHING HIGH: Brandon Bean gets ready before performing the vertical jump drill Thursday, March 15. GVL | ROBBIE TRIANO
Although the season for the Grand Valley State Division III men’s club hockey team came to an abrupt end, six members of the team were selected to the ACHA All-Star Challenge held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Lakers who were selected were goalie Jack Lindsay, captain Alex Bjork, forward Alex Siroky, forward Ben Kowalske, defenseman Derek Simon and Ben Chafin. These six players will represent their program and university on Friday, April 13, through Sunday, April 15.
LANDING: Linebacker Garrett Pougnett lands after performing the leap Thursday, March 15. GVL | ROBBIE TRIANO
BREAKING RECORDS: Tight end Nick Keizer maxes out at 27 reps of 225 pounds during the bench press, four more than any other tight end during the NFL Scouting Combine. GVL | ROBBIE TRIANO