ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's and women's track and field teams competed Friday (2/10) and Saturday (2/11) in the GVSU hosted Big Meet.
The Lady Cardinals were led on day one by senior Alycia Wright (Macomb, Mich./Lutheran North HS) who placed sixth overall in the 800-meter run clocking in at 2:11.41, just .06 seconds shy of the school record. Freshman Makenzie Frodle (Fraser, Mich./Fraser HS) would tie for seventh place in the high jump competition clearing a height of 1.56 meters. Fellow jumper Elizabeth Willford (Gladwin, Mich./Gladwin HS) competed in the pole vault and placed 15th overall clearing a bar of 3.60 meters, only four inches shy of setting a new school record. Earning 17th and 18th place finishes were teammates Lauren Hill (Flat Rock, Mich./Flat Rock HS) and Ashley Meyer (Shepherd, Mich./Shepherd HS), Hill in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:40.40 and Meyer in the mile timing in at 5:01.21.
Day two of competition was also a success for the Lady Cards as the distance medley relay team consisting of Emily Short (Tawas, Mich./Tawas Area HS), Diamond Taylor (Southfield, Mich./Southfield HS), Wright, and Meyer surpassed their previous school record of 11:58.85 by over 10 seconds timing in at 11:48.75, good for a fourth place finish. Taylor also had success in the open 400-meter where she placed fourth overall coming in with a final time of 58.17. Sophomore sprinter Shavonne Roberson (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti HS) would earn a 37th place finish, in a field of over 70 athletes, in the 200-meter dash clocking in at 26.88. Fellow sprinting teammate Elizabeth Sampson (Willis, Mich./Lincoln HS) would cross the line at 8.18 for the 60-meter dash just .25 seconds short of tying the school record. Freshman Emerald Joiner (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) would lead the way in the throwing events earning 11th and 20th place finishes overall in the shot put and weight throw competitions recording marks of 12.70 and 14.74 meters, respectively.
The men's team was led on day one by sophomore Frank Sanders (Detroit, Mich./Sterling Heights HS) who placed fourth in the high jump competition clearing a height of 2.04 meters. Earning a 15th place finish in the 600-meter run was teammate James Walker (West Bloomfield, Mich./Walled Lake Central HS) who clocked in at 1:24.30. Distance runner Joseph Burelle (Sterling Heights, Mich./Stevenson HS) would place 37th overall, in a very competitive field of 147 runners, crossing the line at 15:07.70 while thrower Brian Bott (Buckley, Mich./Kingsley HS) earned a ninth place finish in the weight throw with a toss of 16.42 meters.
Leading the way on day two for the men was middle distance runner Josh Arnold (Clio, Mich./Clio HS) who placed 13th overall in the 800-meter run clocking in at 1:56.10. Senior distance runner Jon Wetters (Essexville, Mich./Garber HS) would cross the line at 8:57.27 for the 3,000-meter run, which was good for an 18th place finish. Bott earned another ninth place finish in the weight throw improving his mark of 16.42 meters, thrown on Friday, to 16.54 meters while throwing teammate Jon Roosen (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) placed 20th in the shot put with a toss of 13.64 meters. The 4x400-meter relay team made up of Lee Chiatalas (Fenton, Mich./Linden HS), Arnold, David Foster (Port Huron, Mich./Port Huron HS), and James Walker (West Bloomfield, Mich./Walled Lake Central HS) earned a sixth place finish timing in at 3:21.16.
The Cardinals will be back in action again Friday (2/17) when they travel to Mt. Pleasant, Mich. to compete in the CMU hosted 'Jack Skoog' Open.