ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's and women's indoor track and field teams opened their 2012-13 season today (Nov. 30) at the GVSU Early Bird.

Men
The men's track and field team also had a strong showing with first place finishes in the high jump, pole vault and triple jump. Junior Frank Sanders (Detroit, Mich. / Sterling Heights HS) won the high jump with a leap of 2.09 meters, while senior Tyler Grob (Pinckney, Mich. / Pinckney HS) grabbed first place in the pole vault with a jump of 4.75 meters.  Junior Raetron Bryant (Burton, Mich. / Atherton HS) would finish first in the triple jump with a jump of 14.25 meters.  Sanders would also finish seventh in the long jump with a distance of 6.41 meters.  Senior David Ray (Lansing, Mich. / Eastern HS) placed second in the 60-meter hurdles with an SVSU school record of 8.09, while sophomore D'Omar Boyden finished fifth with a time of 8.27. The lone Cardinal thrower to make the trip was freshman Nicholas Halabicky (Davison, Mich.) who finished 14th in the weight throw (12.91 meters) and 15th in the shot put (11.33 meters).

Women
A small group of the women's track and field team represented Saginaw Valley State Univeristy at the GVSU Early Bird with some strong showings.  Long distance runners Lauren Hill (Flat Rock, Mich.) and Emily Short (Tawas, Mich.) both claimed top-10 finishes in the 5000-meter run.  Hill crossed the line in fifth place with a time of 17:01.62, while Short finished in ninth place with a time of 17:08.60.  In the 200-meter dash freshman Yanisha Edwards (Flint, Mich. / Northwestern HS) and Kim Balls (Bridgeport, Mich. / Bridgeport HS) had strong showings in their first meet.  Edwards crossed the line in 25.72 good for 11th place, while Balls finished in 14th with a time of 26.60.  In the 4x400-meter relay the team of Shavonne Roberson (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Ypsilanti HS), Samalia Cousins (Portland, Jamaica / Vere Technical HS), Ola Hendler (Lansing, Mich. / Grand Ledge HS) and Diamond Taylor (Southfield, Mich.) had an impressive first race of the season with a second place finish just edging out Grand Valley with a time of 3:54.49.

The Cardinals will return to the track on Dec. 7 when they host the SVSU Holiday Classic.