ALLENDALE, Mich. -- The Parkside men's track and field team put together a strong opening day at the GLIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday. The Rangers sit in second place with 57.5 points heading into the final day, trailing only Grand Valley State.
 
Parkside saw immediate success on the track, led by Ian Liburd, who qualified for the finals in both the 100 meters and 200 meters. Liburd posted the fastest time in the 100 prelims at 10.63, while also advancing in the 200 with a time of 21.46. Jaylan Nelson (22.03) and Mikhail Bolden (22.20) also secured spots in the 200-meter finals.
 
In the hurdles, the Rangers advanced a trio to the 400-meter hurdles final. Michael Hendrix (54.74), Thomas Stiltner (55.03), and Carter Peet (54.36) all moved on, with Peet turning in a personal-best mark.
 
The middle-distance group delivered key qualifiers as well. Cayton Cratch led the 800-meter prelims field with a time of 1:55.26, while Doug Martin (1:56.19) and Amadeo Cortes (2:00.09) also advanced. Martin doubled back to qualify in the 1500 meters (4:05.44), with Robin Bertsch (4:06.21) earning a qualifying spot as well.
 
Distance points came from the steeplechase, where Connor Sheahan placed fourth in 9:11.85, a personal best. Beckett Pawlak added three team points with a sixth-place finish. Jack Hamilton added a personal best in the 10,000 meters, finishing in 33:21.11.
 
In the field events, Parkside piled up valuable points across multiple disciplines. EJ Johnson led the high jump group with a third-place clearance of 2.05 meters, a mark that ranks among the top performances in Division II this season. Ariel Molina added a fifth-place finish at 1.95 meters. Ryan Peel contributed in the pole vault, placing third with a season-best clearance of 4.42 meters.
 
The Rangers were particularly strong in the javelin, led by Carson Hull's runner-up finish with a throw of 50.97 meters. Cooper Vail (sixth), Kaelan McDonough (seventh), and Nicholas Katsma (eighth) all scored to give Parkside a significant boost in the team standings.
 
Hull and Katsma also led the way in the decathlon, turning in consistent performances across the board. Hull recorded event wins in the long jump and javelin, while adding a second-place finish in the high jump and pole vault. Katsma added multiple top-three finishes, including second in the 110-meter hurdles and 400 meters. Hull and Katsma finished one and two in the event with scores of 6014 and 5828.
 
The Rangers will now ready themselves for the final day of the GLIAC Championships on Friday. The day will begin for the field events at 9:00am (CT) and at 10:10am (CT) for the running events. Links to live coverage can be found at ParksideRangers.com.