HILLSDALE, Mich. - The Cardinals competed in three last chance meets last week to wrap up the regular season before the NCAA Outdoor Championships that will be held at the end of this month in Brandenton, Flordia.
At the Hillsdale Last Chance Meet on May 11 and 12, the women's track & field team finished eighth with 31 points and the men in 12th with 22.82 points.
The women's 4x400 relay team of Ola Hendler, Ce'Aira Richardson, Taylor Stepanski and DeAnna Stickler-Gatson took first and provisionally qualified for the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships with a time of 3:45.67.
Sidney Bischer and Anna Fochesato tied for third in the high jump, crossing the bar at 1.62 meters. Fochesato took second and provisionally qualified for the NCAA championships in the triple jump, recording a distance of 11.97 meters.
In the shot put, Emerald Joiner notched a NCAA provisional mark and finished third with a best throw of 14.19 meters.
Andrew Mudd took fourth in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 56.45.
In the 1,500 meter run, Gerald Henderson took ninth, recording a time of 4:06.92.
Robert Atwater finished second and provisionally qualified with a distance of 7.27 meters. Robert Tarpley followed in third with a jump of 7.20 meters. Mudd took eighth at 6.64 meters.
Sam Black and Brady Watson tied for eighth in the high jump, posting a height of 1.91 meters. Watson finished sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 13.57 meters.
At the GVSU Second to Last Chance meet, Christina Micale took second in the 3,000 steeplechase with a time of 11:13.42.
Anna Fochesato finished second with another provisional qualifying mark and personal record in the triple jump of 12.15 meters. Her performance broke SVSU's outdoor triple jump record set in 2001 by seven inches.
Fochesato and Bischer tied again in the high jump at fourth place with a mark of 1.59 meters.
In the 800 meter run, DeAnna Stickler-Gatson posted a fifth place finish with a provisional qualifying time of 2:12.25. Paige Stepanski followed in 13th with a time of 2:21.07.
Emerald Joiner placed second in the shot put with a provisional mark of 14.30 meters. She also took ninth in the discus with a throw of 43.38 meters.
Robert Tarpley took first in the men's triple jump with a best distance of 14.51 meters. Tarpley also finished third in the long jump with a mark of 7.38 meters.
Ben Morrow placed 12th in the discus at a mark of 44.84 meters.
In the GVSU Last Chance meet, Fochesato took first in the triple jump with a provisional qualifying mark of 12.02 meters
Joiner placed third in the shot put with a provisional qualifying distance of 13.85 meters and 13th in the discus at 41.15 meters.
Tarpley finished first in the triple jump event with a mark of 13.65 meters and fourth in the long jump at 6.63 meters.
Ben Morrow posted a 10th place finish in the discus with a throw of 47.38 meters.
National Standings
At the end of 2016 outdoor season, Taylor Stepanski ranks third in both the 800 meter run and the 1,500 meter run with times of 2:07.02 and 4:23.22, respectively.
Paige Stepanski ranks 30th in the 800 meter with a mark of 2:10.86, followed by DeAnna Stickler-Gatson in 34th at 2:11.31.
The 4x400 relay team of Ola Hendler, Ce'Aira Richardson, Taylor Stepanski and DeAnna Stickler-Gatson ranks 23rd for their time of 3:45.67 posted at the Hillsdale Last Chance Meet.
Fochesato is 26th nationally in the triple jump and Joiner is 21st in the shot put after their performances at GVSU last week.
For the men, Robert Atwater ranks sixth in the high jump with a best mark of 2.11 meters. Atwater also ranks 34th in the long jump with a distance of 7.31 meters.
Robert Tarpley is 30th nationally in the long jump (7.32 meters) and 39th in the triple jump (14.78 meters).
Andrew Mudd and Sam Black rank 17th and 35th respectively in the decathlon.
Joey Southgate stands at 49th in the 10,000 meter run with a time of 30:41.84.
In the 5,000 meter run, Eddie Komph sits at 36th with a time of 14:28.49. Tom Goforth ranks 50th at 14:36.47.