MT. PLEASANT, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's and women's track and field teams competed Friday (2/17) in the Central Michigan University hosted Jack Skoog Open.  The Cardinals only traveled a small group of athletes but still saw great results.

The women's team was led by senior Elizabeth Willford (Gladwin, Mich./Gladwin HS) who competed in the pole vault and recorded a NCAA DII National Provisional Qualifying mark of 3.75 meters.  This mark would also set a new school record surpassing Willford's previous school record by 1.5 inches.  Fellow jumper Makenzie Frodle (Fraser, Mich./Fraser HS) earned a second place finish in the high jump clearing a height of 1.58 meters.  Hurdler Sarah Kawiecki (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) would also place second in the 60-meter hurdles clocking in at 9.81.  Teammates Emily Short (Tawas, Mich./Tawas Area HS) and Emerald Joiner (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) both placed second in their events, Short in the 3,000-meter run timing in at 10:26.27 and Joiner in the weight throw with a toss of 14.64 meters.  Joiner also earned a second place in the shot put competition with a mark of 12.92 meters.

The men's team was led by junior transfer Joseph Burelle (Sterling Heights, Mich./Stevenson HS) who placed first in the 3,000-meter run clocking in at 8:46.32.  Freshman Drew Meylan (Bay City, Mich./Bay City Western HS) also earned a top finish in the mile run timing in at 4:31.50, good for a third place finish.  David Foster (Port Huron, Mich./Port Huron HS) would cross the line at 52.86 for the 400-meter dash, good for a second place finish.  

The Cardinals will be back in action Friday (2/24) and Saturday (2/25) when they compete in theGreat Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Indoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by the University of Findlay.