Grand Valley State University Track & Field Camp
Camp Staff
Joe Lynn
Camp Director
Joe Lynn is in his fifth year as an assistant with the Grand Valley State program. This fall will be his third in working with head coach Jerry Baltes with the men's and women's cross country teams and first as Associate Head Coach. In each of the first two seasons with the cross country program, GVSU has finished fifth place for the men and second place for the women at the NCAA Championships. In his first four years working with the GVSU distance runners, Lynn has had a hand in coaching multiple school records, conference champions, and national qualifiers, including 24 student-athletes to a combined 65 All-American honors, numerous Academic All-Americans, and multiple NCAA National Champions.
For his work, Lynn was awarded the 2010 NCAA Division II Midwest Region Men's Track Assistant Coach of the Year along with being voted the 2010 NCAA Division II National Men's Assistant Coach of the Year.
Prior to his time at GVSU, Lynn earned his Master's of Science in Sport Administration from the University of Louisville. While in Louisville, Lynn got his start in coaching, helping guide the men's team at Louisville Male High School to sixth and seventh place finishes in the 2006 and 2007 KHSAA State Cross Country Championships and coached five All-State athletes. He also worked at Fleet Feet Sports-Louisville, gaining valuable experience in proper footwear and mechanics for his runners.
Lynn is a 2005 graduate of Aquinas College, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Sports Management. He was a four-year letter winner in cross country and track for the Saints, receiving Academic All-American honors in cross country during the 2003 season. Lynn also earned the teams Captain's Award during their 2004 NAIA National Runner-up season.
Lynn is originally from Muskegon, Mich. and is a graduate of Reeths-Puffer High School. He was also the overall winner of the 2005 Louisville Marathon.
Jerry Baltes
Head Coach
Jerry Baltes is in his 12th year at the helm of both the men's and women's cross country and track and field teams at Grand Valley State. During that time, Baltes has been able to build six championship programs as the Lakers have won 54 out of 66 cross country, indoor, and outdoor track and field GLIAC championships.
Overall, Baltes has won 33 GLIAC Coach of the Year titles and has groomed 96 All-Americans athletes to a combined total of 271 All-American honors. Baltes has received the Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year Award eight times in cross country, nine times in indoor and nine times in outdoor. The women's cross country, track and field teams at Grand Valley State have won all three (cross country, indoor track, outdoor track) conference championships in each of the last nine seasons, while the men won all three for a streak of five seasons (2003-07). For those accomplishments, Baltes was most recently named the men's and women's cross country Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2008 and named Division II National Women's Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2009.
Baltes has led the men's and women's indoor and outdoor track teams to 28 top-20 finishes at the NCAA National Championships. The men's indoor track and field team placed 13th in 2000, 15th in 2001, 12th in 2002, 18th in 2005, 10th in 2006, fourth in 2008, eighth in 2007 and 12th in 2009. The women's team finished 14th in 1999, ninth in 2002, seventh in 2003, 16th in 2005, fifth in 2006, third in 2007, sixth in 2008, second in 2009 and second in 2010. The men's outdoor track and field team finished in 13th place in 2006, eighth in 2007, sixth in 2008, and 12th in 2009. The women's team placed 11th in 2002, 18th in 2005, fourth in 2006, fifth in 2007, eighth in 2008, fourth in 2009 and third in 2010.
The Laker cross country teams have experienced a great deal of success on the national level. Baltes wasted no time in making a name for the women's program as they finished fifth in the nation in 1999 and have finished in the top five every year since them. The women's team has finished in the top three spots in the last four seasons, including second-place finishes in both 2005 and 2008. The men's team has also had success at the national level, making the national stage for the first time in 2002 and finishing ninth. The Lakers finished in fourth place for three consecutive seasons (2005-07), their top finish to date.
Baltes has guided five individuals and two relay teams to NCAA National Championships in his tenure at Grand Valley State. Jason Van Elst became Grand Valley's first-ever individual National Champion as he won the 35# weight throw (65'-9.5") in 2002 in Boston, Mass. Mandi (Long) Zemba became the school's first-ever female athlete to win an individual national championship. She is a four-time NCAA National Champion and won her first title as a true freshman in the 1500 meter with a time of 4:28.53. In 2005, Zemba won the individual National Championship in cross country as she covered the 6,000 meter course in Pomona, Calif. in a time of 21:01.7. She went on to capture the 3,000 and 5,000 meter runs at the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Emporia, Kan. Her time of 15:48.62 at the Stanford Cardinal Invitational qualified her for the USA Track and Field National Championships in Indianapolis where she finished 16th. Zemba rewrote the distance record books in 2006 by breaking six GVSU school records. Steph Kuhlman claimed the National Championship title in the 800m in 2003 in Edwardsville, Ill. with a winning time of 2:05.34. She set the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship record of 2:05.75 in 2003 in the prelims. Kuhlman also qualified and competed in the 2003 USA Track and Field Championships in Stanford.
Originally from Rolling Prairie, Ind., Baltes was a four-time letter winner and captain of the cross country/track and field teams at Butler University. Graduating from Butler in 1998, Baltes received a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education-physical education.
Baltes was the assistant men's and women's track and field/cross country coach for two years at Butler. His area of focus was with the distance athletes in cross country and the jumpers in track. He played a major role in building a cross country program that qualified for the National Championships. In 1998, he assisted in leading the Butler Bulldogs to 16th place at the NCAA Championships. Baltes also guided Butler's first track athlete to the 1998 National Championships in the 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000 meters, since 1971.
Certified by the NCAA to recruit, and in charge of the Midwestern region, Baltes brought in the largest recruiting class ever in Butler cross country history. Having experience in organizing events, scheduling, and keeping his players motivated, Baltes' management skills have played a large role in his success. He assisted in all aspects of team travel, organized team events and activities, coordinated equipment orders with Adidas, and kept contact with alumni.
Steve Jones
Assistant Coach
Assistant coach Steve Jones is set to begin his third year as the jumps coach at Grand Valley State University. Before GVSU he spent three seasons at Minnesota State University, Mankato where, he worked with jumpers, multi-event athletes, throwers, and sprinters. While at MSU Jones' athletes set several school records in addition to winning eight All-American accolades. Jones assisted in coaching the 2007 USATF US National High Jump Champion Jim Dilling (2.30m) who also won four Division II National High Jump Competitions.
At Minnesota State University, Jones' other duties including teaching in the human performance department, meet administration, monitoring the academic success of student-athletes, as well as assisting in hosting the 2008 NCAA Indoor Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships. In his time there, Jones also received his Masters degree in Sport Administration.
Jones graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003 with a degree in Consumer Science. A two time captain and NCAA Division I national participant in the high jump, Jones worked for Athletes in Action upon his graduation. Part of his time was spent in Spain where he volunteer coached for two track teams and participated in mission work. When stateside, Jones coached high school track in Wisconsin working with the jumpers, sprinters, and vaulters.
Keith Roberts
Sprints
Keith Roberts Jr. enters his first year as the assistant men's and women's track and field coach with his duties focusing on sprints, hurdles and relays. Roberts arrives from Heidelberg, a division III institution in Tiffin, Ohio, where he was the head track and field and cross country coach since 2008. Last year he led the men's cross country team to an Ohio Athletic Conference title and an 18th place finish at the NCAA DIII championships. This was the program's fourth-straight appearance and seventh overall.
During the 2009-10 track and field season, Roberts led the men's team to a conference title and coached three all-americans, two in the long jump and one in the 55-meter dash. Overall the Heidelberg's track and field team nationally qualified in four events in outdoor and two during the indoor championships. In 2008 and 2009, Roberts coached Judy Bataille to a national indoor and outdoor title in the 55-meter dash.
Prior to Heidelberg, Roberts coached for the Logan County Elite Track Club and also was an assistant coach for Bellefontaine High School during the 2006-07 season and assisted at the University of Pittsburg from 2005-06.
Roberts attended Kent State, where he was a member of the track and field team from 2000-05. During his time there he was named Freshman Verizon All-American in the outdoor 110-meter hurdles and finished 11th in the nation among division I athletes in the indoor 60-meter hurdles in 2003. Roberts also won the Mid-American Conference title in the indoor 60-meter hurdles and currently holds the indoor 55-meter hurdles record at Kent State.
Roberts, a native of Bellefontaine, Ohio, attended Bellefontaine High School and earned his bachelor's of science in Interpersonal Communications from Kent State (2005). He also finished his master's degree in education from Heidelberg in 2009.
Tessa Sibley
Sprints
Tessa Sibley is in her first season as assistant track and field coach with her duties assigned to sprints and hurdles. Sibley arrives from Heidelberg, where she spent three years there and worked mainly with the sprinters and jumpers, along with being the Academic Coordinator for the track and field team. She attended Kent State and was a member of the track and field team. Sibley helped the 2003 team to a Mid-American Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship and ranks in the top-five on Kent State's All-Time Performance List in the 60-meter dash.
A native of Gallipolis, Ohio, Sibley attended Gallia Academy High School and was a runner-up at the OHSAA state meet in the 100-meter dash, along with a state champion in the 4x200 relay. Sibley earned her bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, cum laude from Kent State.
Lou Andreadis
Associate Head Coach
Lou Andreadis returning for his ninth season at Grand Valley as associate head coach for both men's and women's track and field. Andreadis' experience is a valuable resource to the Laker program and will also reunite
Andreadis with head coach Jerry Baltes as they coached together at Butler University in Indiana. Lou's main responsibilities are to work with the Laker pole vaulters and handle all Multi-Event scheduling for the Combined Events.
At Grand Valley State, Andreadis has developed a solid vault program which has seen 23 all-americans in seven years and set both men's and women's school records . His vaulters average a fifteen inch improvement over the last seven years. Three vaulters have seen over three feet added to their high school PR's. Under Lou's coaching, Bryant Wilson went from a 14'6" high school vaulter to clearing 18'0.5" (5.50m) in 2009 and competing at the USATF National Championship. The same year Dianna Noonan, a 12'0" high school vaulter, cleared 13'9.25" (4.20m) and also qualified for the USATF Championship.
Coach Lou has also put together one of the largest pole selections in the entire country. Over $50,000 has been spent in poles alone to fill out complete series of poles from 12'6-16'1. He also helped design the lay-out for the two raised runways used at GVSU's indoor facility.
Andreadis graduated from Butler in 1996 with a degree in Secondary Education. Lou stayed at Butler and worked for four years as assistant coach for track and field and football as well as a part-time teacher at an Indianapolis grade school, IHM. In 2001 he was the head girls track and assistant football coach at his alma mater, Anderson High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
