BIG RAPIDS, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's and women's track and field teams competed today (4/9) in the Ferris State University hosted Bulldog Invitational.

The women's team was led by junior Elizabeth Wilford (Gladwin, Mich./Gladwin HS) who earned a first place in one individual event, the pole vault, and was a member of the first place 4x100-meter relay team.  Willford cleared a height of 3.55-meters in the pole vault, breaking the outdoor record, and was the lead leg of the 4x100-meter relay team consisting of Kelsey Bartoloni (Southgate, Mich./Southgate HS), Shavonne Roberson (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti HS), and Sarah Kawiecki (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) that crossed the line at 49.79.  Teammate Stacey Westphal (Corunna, Mich./Corunna HS) finished close behind Willford in the pole vault with a height of 3.20-meters, good for a third place finish.  Junior middle-distance runner Alycia Wright (Macomb, Mich./Lutheran North HS) placed first overall in the 800-meter run crossing the line at 2:14.71.  Earning top-finishes in the throwing events were teammates Samantha Cormier (Frankenmuth, Mich./Frankenmuth HS), who placed second in the javelin throw with a distance of 33.78-meters, and Kayleigh Nelson (Standish, Mich./Standish-Sterling HS), who placed third in the hammer throw with a distance of 44.41-meters.  Rounding out the meet for the Cardinals was the 4x400-meter relay team consisting of Kawiecki, Bartoloni, Diamond Taylor (Southfield, Mich./Southfield HS), and Wright who placed first overall timing in at 4:03.7.    

The men's team was led by sophomore David Ray (Lansing, Mich./Eastern High School) who placed first in the 110-meter high hurdles crossing the line with a final time of 15.05.  Earning second place finishes for the Cardinals were teammates Tyler Grob (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney HS), Brian Bott (Buckley, Mich./Kingsley HS), and Jon Wetters (Essexville, Mich./Garber HS).  Grob and Bott earned thier top-finishes in the field events, Grob in the pole vault with a height of 4.55-meters and Bott in the hammer throw with a distance of 53.39, while Wetters earned his top-finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase coming in at 9:45.7.  Grob was also a member of the third place 4x100-meter relay team consisting of Ricky Griffin (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS), Raetron Bryant (Burton, Mich./Artherton HS), and Lee Chiatalas (Fenton, Mich./Linden HS) that came in with a final time of 42.74.  Distance teammates Derek Stone (Metamora, Mich./Lapeer East HS) and Greg Baade (Warren, Mich./De La Salle Collegiate HS) each placed third, Stone in the 800-meter run and Baade in the 5,000-meter run, clocking in at 1:56.89 and 15:53.63, respectively.  Rounding out the meet for Saginaw Valley was the 4x400-meter relay team consisting of Grob, Bryant, Chiatalas, and Stone who placed second overall crossing the line at 3:25.27.

Saginaw Valley will be back in action again next week as they split and head to either the Mount SAC Relays in Walnut, California or the Northwood Open in Midland, Michigan.