GLIAC -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced its 2025 indoor track & field athletes of the year, as voted on by the conference coaches following the NCAA Division II Championships.
Grand Valley State student-athletes were selected for each of the four conference honors. Scott Spaanstra earned men's track athlete of the year and Lauren Kiley won women's track athlete of the year. Eli Kosiba received men's field athlete of the year, while Kaylee Diamond was chosen as women's field athlete of the year.
Grand Valley State assistant coaches Steve Jones (men) and Alan Peterson (women) were also honored. Lakers' head coach Jerry Baltes and his assistants were honored as GLIAC Coaching Staff of the Year following the conference meet, at which GVSU captured both the men's and women's titles.
For the second consecutive year, jumps coach Steve Jones has been named GLIAC men’s assistant coach of the year. Coaching long jump, triple jump and high jump, Jones’s athletes performed at a consistently high level throughout the year. High jumper Eli Kosiba showed off the coaching skills of Jones early in the season when he tied the NCAA DII record (2.30m (7-6.5)) set by Jim Dilling in 2007, an athlete also coached by Jones. At the GLIAC Indoor Championships, his men’s jumps squad tallied a score of 36 team points with one individual champion. His success continued at the NCAA DII Championships. His men’s high jump squad consisting of Eli Kosiba, Jaivon Harrison, Jonathan Rankins-James and Marcus Gelpi went 1-2-3-6 in the event and gathered 26.5 team points. In addition to the five mentioned, two other athletes competed under Jones at the national championships.
Mid-distance/distance coach Alan Peterson has earned GLIAC women’s assistant coach of the year as a result of the hard work and dedication he has contributed to his student-athletes. Peterson, a former GVSU student-athlete, oversaw and assisted the mid-distance/distance crew that scored 97 points at the GLIAC Indoor Championships and acquired five championships in individual and relay events. Under Peterson’s direction, seven women and the distance medley relay event advanced to the NCAA DII Indoor Championships. The group scored 28 team points, including one national individual championship title (Lauren Kiley, 3000m) and one national runner-up title (Natalie Graber, 3000m). The 28 points contributed to the team’s 47 point team score, contributing to their third place national finish.
2025 GLIAC MEN'S INDOOR TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Scott Spaanstra, Grand Valley State
Scott Spaanstra earned GLIAC men’s track athlete of the year following the 2025 indoor season, which was, according to Spaanstra, “the best season of [his] life.” Throughout the season, this senior competed in the 800m and distance medley relay (DMR) events. His first-place finish in the 800m and DMR at the GLIAC Indoor Championships helped lead the team to their 24th indoor conference title. Ahead of national competition, Spaanstra was ranked 10th in the 800m and 10th in the DMR (NCAA DII). At the NCAA DII Indoor Championships, Spaanstra placed sixth in the 800m at a time of 1:50.33 and earned All-America honors in the individual event. His 1:51.90 split in the DMR helped lead his team to a seventh-place national finish at 9:43.37, securing him another All-America medal. Spaanstra joins his father (Scott Spaanstra) on the GLIAC’s list of athletes of the year, who received the honor in men’s basketball during Northern Michigan’s 1993 season.
2025 GLIAC WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Lauren Kiley, Grand Valley State
Lauren Kiley received GLIAC women’s track athlete of the year based on her impressive performance throughout the season. The reigning NCAA DII Individual Cross Country Champion competed in several events throughout the season; she was nationally ranked in the top 15 in all events. At the GLIAC Indoor Championships, Kiley ran a 9:26.76 3000m time, taking the podium as the individual champion of the event. She also helped led her DMR team to a first place finish at the conference championships: she anchored the race, finishing at 11:38.77. At the NCAA DII Championships, the junior ran in the 3000m and 5000m events. She set a personal-best time in the 5000m, finishing sixth at 16:16.51 to earn All-America honors. She capped off competition with an impressive 9:26.14 finish in the 3000m, closing out the final 200m in just 30.64 to be named the NCAA DII Individual Champion in the event.
2025 GLIAC MEN'S INDOOR FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Eli Kosiba, Grand Valley State
Graduate student Eli Kosiba has earned yet another honor in his last season of collegiate competition. Kosiba was named GLIAC men’s field athlete of the year for his near-perfect performance in high jump throughout the season. At the first meet of the indoor season, Kosiba tied Jim Dilling’s indoor high jump record set in 2007, clearing 2.30m (7-6.5). His mark earned him USTFCCCA Athlete of the Week honors, shattered Grand Valley’s school and facility record and remained the best of all collegiate high jump performances through the duration of the season. The Indiana native was extremely consistent all season, clearing at least 2.20m (7-2.5) through all six meets. Ahead of the NCAA DII Championships, Kosiba competed at the 2025 USATF Indoor Championships and claimed Runner-Up with a 2.22m (7-3.25) mark. The next honor that Kosiba earned was one he had been waiting his entire collegiate career for: National Champion. His 2.23m (7-3.75) earned him the crown he had been working for – the perfect end to his collegiate career. Following his NCAA performance, Kosiba is headed to Nanjing, China to compete at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships as the sole men’s high jumper on the USATF roster.
2025 GLIAC WOMEN'S INDOOR FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Kaylee Diamond, Grand Valley State
Aquinas transfer Kaylee Diamond earned another honor from the GLIAC at the close of the season: GLIAC women’s field athlete of the year. Diamond opened the season in a dramatic fashion, tying Grand Valley State’s 32-year indoor high jump record on just her first attempt at the 1.76m (5-9.25) mark. She continued to impress throughout the remainder of the season, always clearing marks above 1.70m (5-7.75). At the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational, Diamond officially broke the GVSU record, clearing 1.78m (5-10) on her first attempt at the height. At the GLIAC Indoor Championships, the junior not only broke her personal-best, but shattered the conference record with a 1.80m (5-10.75). She broke her record yet again at the NCAA DII Indoor Championships, clearing 1.81m (5-11.25). The mark earned her the title of National Champion and added 10 points to the team total, helping lead the Lakers to their third-place team finish.
