UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University track and field teams opened the 2023-24 indoor season with the annual SVSU Holiday Open on Friday, December 1. The meet wrapped up on Saturday, December 2 with the final three events from the men's heptathlon.
The Cardinal women completed the meet with one win, six top-five finishes, 12 top-10 performances, and two PRs. The men compiled two wins, 12 top-five, 23 top-10s, and five PRs in the two-day event.
SVSU Women's Top Finishers
Alexa Keiser led the way on the women's side as she broke the SVSU indoor record in the 5,000-meter run with a provisional time of 16:44.62 to complete the race in second place.
Alona Olshevska won the 400-meter run with an NCAA Provisional time of 54.56 seconds to win the event. The time was just .12 seconds from her PR in the 400.
Hanna Schroeder set a new PR in the 60 hurdles after placing second in the finals with a time of 8.91 seconds.
Grace Collett was .13 seconds from her PR in the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.96 to capture third in the final heat. Mikenna Borie got a PR in the 3,000-meter run after crossing the finish line in 10:44.75 for third place.
The 4x400 relay team consisting of Taylor Moyer, Mallory Farmer, Makayla Fuerst, and Sophia Thelen earned fourth place after a finish of 4:12.15. Moyer completed the 400 with a seventh-place time of 1:00.50.
Angelina Delbosque was the final top-five finisher for the SVSU women's team with her 7.91 mark in the 60-meter dash. That time was just .13 seconds from her PR in the event.
Anna Alexander (3K, 11:10.13) and Cheyenne Williamson (Shot Put, 12.12m) joined Moyer with seventh-place finishes in their events. Ericka Jackson (shot put, 11.96m) and Lynsey Amthor (5k, 17:27.23) finished eighth in their events. Olivia Carpenter finished the women's pentathlon with a final score of 2,695 to place 10th and complete the top-ten finishes for Cardinal women.
SVSU Men Top Finishers
David Ferguson and Dominic Suliman headlined this for the men with wins in the 800-meter and 5,000-meter runs. Ferguson won the 800 with a time of 1:56.95 (.01 from his PR). Suliman won the 5k in his debut for SVSU with a provisional mark of 14:26.12.
The men's 4x400 Relay squad of Kabanu Witherspoon, Quin Broussard, Daniel Barger, and Tyler Burrell placed second with a time of 3:25.01.
Cameron Sherrill finished the 800 in third with a time of 1:58.90 in his Cardinal debut. Carson Hersch was also third, as he finished the 5k in 14:40.01. Andrew Quinn also collected a third-place finish with a shot-put throw of 16.39m (53-9.25) in his season opener.
Tyler Burrell finished just .12 seconds from his PR in the 400 with a time of 49.60. That time was good enough for fourth place. Two other fourth-place finishes came from Noah Verlinde (5k, 14:40.46) and Nolan Berg in the shot put with a throw of 15.47m (50-9.25). Verlinde's time was a PR in the 5k while Berg's toss was just .35m short of his career best.
Wyatt Dean placed fifth in his debut during the 800 with a time of 1:59.43. Justin Roose was fifth in the mile for his debut, clocking in a time of 4:18.28. Zach deBeauclair also debuted for SVSU with a fifth-place finish in the 3k. His time of 9:06.46 earned him a top-five finish on the afternoon.
Bryce Husen (mile, 4:21.36) debuted for the Cardinals while Deven Varela (pole vault, 4.30m) and Jack Lobodzinski (5k, 14:45.68) also finished sixth in their respective events. Lobodzinski's mark in the 5k was a PR for him.
Wilson Tschirhart (pole vault, 4.15m), Rodney Zimmerman (60m, 7.22), Chris Holt (800, 2:01.79), and Shane Siterlet (mile, 4:21.92) each earned a seventh-place finish. Zimmerman's mark was a PR in the 60-meter dash while Holt and Siterlet's standings were debut totals for their collegiate careers. The 4x400 Relay team consisting of Ferguson, Sherrill, Dean, and Luke Burns placed seventh in the race with a finish of 3:35.25. Burns also placed eighth in the 800 with a time of 2:02.96. Jaron Wyma rounded out the top-ten finishes for the men with a PR in the mile of 4:25.36.
The SVSU track and field team will hit the road next week to compete at the GVSU Holiday Open on Friday, December 8, 2023. It will be the final meet of the calendar year for the Cardinals.
