ALLENDALE, Mich. – VU sophomore sprinter Desroy Jordan has already earned several spots in the Trailblazers Track and Field record books, now holding five school records after setting a program best time in the 600 meters Friday at the Grand Valley State University Big Meet in Michigan.
Jordan was a member of the Indoor 4x800 and DMR relay teams that set school records last year and set two individual school records during the 2023 Outdoor season in the 200 meters and 400 meters.
Jordan's performance was a highlight of a very busy weekend which saw the Blazers add four more National qualifiers.
The Trailblazers got off to a very quick start to the weekend Friday with Jordan placing second overall in the 600 meters with a time of 1:18.21.
Jordan was joined in the 600 meters by sophomore Matthew Gray (Washington, Ind.) and freshman Zion Pruitt.
Gray placed 37th overall with a time of 1:26.46 and Pruitt placed 47th at 1:30.84.
Jordan, obviously, surpassed the qualifying mark for the NJCAA Indoor Nationals in the 600 meters.
Freshman sprinters Tumaini Skinner and Olamipo Ladipo were the next best VU men's finishers Friday, with Skinner placing eighth in the 200 meters with a time of 22.34 seconds with Ladipo close behind at 22.60 seconds, placing him 12th.
Sophomore Cohen Gallant placed 21st in the 60 meter sprint with a time of 6.99 seconds, while freshman Clinton Laguerre placed 25th in the 400 meters at 51.63 seconds.
The VU men's day on the track was rounded out by sophomore Isaac Stanford (Flora, Ill.) who finished 18th in the mile run with a time of 4:15.19, qualifying him for Nationals and freshman Cody Noel (Hebron, Ind.) who finished 13th in his heat of the 5000 meters with a time of 15:50.35.
The VU men's team returned to the track on Saturday and were headlined by another National qualifier in the Distance Medley Relay team of Brahym Sakka, Desroy Jordan, Isaac Stanford and Clinton Laguerre who placed 17th overall with a time of 10:13.73.
Sophomore Olegs Kozjakovs placed 10th in the shot put with a throw of 14.09 meters and later competed in the 60 meter hurdles, placing 15th with a time of 8.94 seconds.
Freshman Brahym Sakka (Tunisia) would also compete in the mile, finishing 21st overall with a time of 4:25.40.
Clinton Laguerre, along with Zion Pruitt and Cohen Gallant each competed in the 200 meter dash, with Pruitt placing 23rd at 22.69, Laguerre coming in 26th at 22.79 and Gallant placing 41st with a time of 23.11 seconds.
Freshmen Bryaun Manuel (East St. Louis, Ill.), Tanner Spence (Carmi, Ill.) and sophomore Matthew Gray were in the 800 meters, with Manuel finishing 38th at 2:00.00, Spence close behind at 2:00.25 in 39th and Gray placing 49th at 2:02.94.
The VU men's weekend came to a close with freshmen Caden Hostetler (LaGrange, Ind.) and Nathan Whitehead (Vincennes, Ind.) competing in the 3000 meters. Hostetler posted a time of 9:02.76 for 51st overall, while Whitehead checked in at 9:36.58 for 80th overall.
"It was a full weekend of track and field at Grand Valley State," VU Head Track and Field Coach Marty Rogier said. "I thought we had a good effort from everyone but especially the distance crew. They really stepped up and are really starting to run well at the right time."
"We added four more National Qualifiers over the weekend in the 600 meters, mile and men's and women's DMR," Rogier added. "That brings our total to nine on the men's side, five of those are top 10 and three on the women's side, with two of those in the top 10. We have one meet left and I think we might get a couple more."
"Desroy continued his outstanding season on Friday by breaking the VU school record in the 600 with a very fast 1:18," Rogier said. "That has him ranked fourth in the Nation. He ran a solid race in only his second time running at that distance. I believe he can take that even lower."
"This weekend was very exciting," VU Assistant Coach and Distance Coach Tyler Steigenga said. "Grand Valley State has one of the best atmospheres for track in the Nation and this is their most competitive meet of the year."
"On the distance side, we got off to a good start Friday with Cody PRing in the 5k," Steigenga added. "Later that day, Matthew ran the 600 in a three second PR. Isaac ran a very gutsy race to get another National qualifier in the mile."
"Saturday morning Caden and Nathan got us started in the 3000 meters," Steigenga said. "Caden ran great and almost broke the nine minute barrier at 9:02. Nathan ran in the heat after him and did well in his first attempt at that distance."
"Three men also ran well in the 800 meters distance," Steigenga added. "Tanner and Bryaun narrowly missed getting under the two minute barrio in their heat, with Bryaun running exactly two minutes. Matthew ran a season's best in his heat."
"Brahym finished off the night with a solid run in the mile after running a great 1200 meter leg of the DMR earlier in the day," Steigenga said.
The VU women's team weekend got off to a very good start with freshman vaulter Sophia Amaral being the only VU women's athlete competing Friday and setting the tone by placing fifth in the pole vault after clearing a height of 4.02 meters.
The women's team kept this momentum going on Saturday with the Distance Medley Relay team of Emilly Barbosa, Jasmyn Self (Casey, Ill.), Adi Fuller and Zinzile Gumpo qualifying for Nationals with a time of 12:56.84, good for 19th overall.
Freshmen Emilly Barbosa (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Adi Fuller (Evansville, Ind.) and Grayson Haynes (Sebree, Ky.) would then compete in the 800 meters, with Barbosa leading the pack with a time of 2:22.57 finishing 28th overall. Fuller crossed the line at 2:33.40 for 53rd overall and Haynes placed 67th with a time of 2:50.34.
Freshman Zinzile Gumpo closed out her weekend by placing 34th in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 9.91 seconds.
The Trailblazers weekend was rounded out by sophomore Madison Davis who placed 16th in the shot put with a longest throw of 11.80 meters.
"Sophia showed why she is the top ranked vaulter in the country with a solid 4.02 meter clearance and a near miss at 4.17 meters," Rogier said. "She did a good job managing her meet with pole selection and staying focused and aggressive."
"The DMR teams were the highlight of the day as both the men and women ran auto qualifiers, resulting in times that are fourth and fifth all-time in school history," Steigenga said. "On the women's side each of them did exactly what they had to get us under 12:58, which was our goal going in. The men had a great qualifying race as well and are currently eighth in the NJCAA."
"Both Emilly and Adi bounced back from the DMR to run the 800 meters an hour and a half later," Steigenga added. "On tired legs, Emilly missed the national qualifying standard by one hundredth of a second and Adi ran a small season's best. Grayson also had an 800 meter season's best by eight seconds."
"Saturday was a really good day for the crew," Steigenga said. "Three weeks ago it felt like we had taken a punch to the gut with over half of the team getting sick and a few dealing with lingering injury issues. Last week we were able to get everyone back to racing and see a glimpse of what we'd be capable of. We took it to another level as each one of the distance runners ran well and we accomplished almost everything we wanted to do going into the meet. We have next week to finalize a few qualifiers as we look to get ready for the National meet in three weeks."
The VU Indoor teams will have one more opportunity this season to qualify for Nationals when the Trailblazers head to the Indiana State Open, Saturday, Feb. 17 hosted by Indiana State University in Terre Haute.
This will be the final meet of the 2024 Indoor regular season, with the Blazers then heading off to the 2024 NJCAA Indoor National Championships Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3 in Gainesville, Fla.
"We have three weeks until the National Championships, so it's time to try and get everyone healthy and to get focused on what we need to be ready," Rogier said.
VINCENNES RESULTS
MEN'S RESULTS
60 meters
Cohen Gallant – 21, 6.99
200 meters
Tumaini Skinner – 8, 22.34
Olamipo Ladipo – 12, 22.60
400 meters
Clinton Laguerre – 25, 51.63
600 meters
Desroy Jordan – 2, 1:18.21
Matthew Gray – 37, 1:26.46
Zion Pruitt – 47, 1:30.84
Mile
Isaac Stanford – 18, 4:15.19
5000 meters heat
Cody Noel – 13, 15:50.35
200 meters
Zion Pruitt – 23, 22.69
Clinton Laguerre – 26 22.79
Cohen Gallant – 41, 23.11
800 meters
Bryaun Manuel – 38, 2:00.00
Tanner Spence – 39, 2:00.25
Matthew Gray – 49, 2:02.94
Mile
Brahym Sakka – 21, 4:25.40
3000 meters
Caden Hostetler – 51, 9:02.76
Nathan Whitehead – 80, 9:36.58
60 meter hurdles
Olegs Kozjakovs – 15, 8.94
DMR
Sakka, Jordan, Stanford, Laguerre – 17, 10:13.73
Shot Put
Olegs Kozjakovs -10, 14.09m
WOMEN'S RESULTS
Pole Vault
Sophia Armaral – 5, 4.02m
800 meters
Emilly Barbosa – 28, 2:22.57
Adi Fuller – 53, 2:33,40
Grayson Haynes – 67, 2:50.34
60 meter hurdles
Zinzile Gumpo – 34, 9.91
DMR
Barbosa, Self, Fuller, Gumpo – 19, 12:56.84
Shot Put
Madison Davis – 16, 11.80m