UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's and women's track and field teams both fell to Grand Valley today (2/3) when they hosted the SVSU vs. GVSU Dual.  The men's team lost 85.50-50.50 while the women's team lost 83-53 in the second annual cross-state rivalry meet.

The men's team was led by sophomore Lee Chiatalas (Fenton, Mich./Linden HS) who placed first in the 400-meter run clocking in at 51.40.  Also earning a first place finish for the Cardinals was middle distance runner Drew Meylan (Bay City, Mich./Bay City Western HS) who crossed the line at 1:56.08 for the 800-meter run, setting a new meet record.  Coming in close behind Meylan in the 800-meter run was teammate Josh Arnold (Clio, Mich./Clio HS) who timed in at 1:57.65.  Earning first and second place finishes in the weight throw and shot put were throwers Brian Bott (Buckley, Mich./Kingsley HS) and Jon Roosen (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS), Bott in the weight throw and Roosen in the shot put.  Bott would toss the weight a distance of 17.31 meters, just short of a National provisional qualifying mark, while Roosen earned a mark of 14.64 meters.  The meet was rounded out with a second place finish in the 4x400-meter relay when the team of Tyler Grob (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney HS), Raetron Bryant (Burton, Mich./Artherton HS), James Walker (West Bloomfield, Mich./Walled Lake Central HS), and Chiatalas crossed the line at 3:25.04.

The women's team was led by senior Ashley Meyer (Shepherd, Mich./Shepherd HS) who placed first in the mile posting a new school record and a NCAA DII National provisional qualifying time of 4:58.98.  Following close behind Meyer in the mile was senior teammate Alycia Wright (Macomb, Mich./Lutheran North HS) who placed second earning a NCAA DII National provisional qualifying time of 4:59.07.  Distance runner Lauren Hill (Flat Rock, Mich./Flat Rock HS) also had an exceptional performance placing first in the 3,000-meter run timing in at 10:15.23, setting a new meet record.  Coming in just behind Hill was junior Chelsea Savage (Monroe, Mich./St. Mary's Catholic Central HS) who clocked in at 10:20.09, good for a third place finish.  Earning a first place finish in the 400-meter dash was sophomore Diamond Taylor (Southfield, Mich./Southfield HS) who crossed the line at 59.58 while throws teammate Emerald Joiner (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) placed second in the shot put with a toss of 13.10 meters.  Freshman high jumper Makenzie Frodle (Fraser, Mich./Fraser HS) would earn a third place finish in the high jump with a leap of 1.62 meters, just two inches short of a provisional qualifying mark.

The Cardinals will be back in action Friday (2/10) and Saturday (2/11) when they travel to Allendale, Mich. to compete in the Grand Valley hosted GVSU Big Meet.