ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's and women's track and field teams both fell today (3/31) to Grand Valley in the GVSU vs. SVSU Dual Meet.  The women's team lost 123 to 45 while the men's team lost 126 to 54.

The women's team was led by freshman Emily Short (Tawas, Mich./Tawas Area HS) who crossed the line at 10:05.01 for the 3,000-meter run and was the only Lady Cardinal to earn a first place finish.  Short was followed closely by teammate Megan Pittoors (Macomb, Mich./Dakota HS) who placed third overall in the 3,000-meter run clocking in at 10:06.53.  Fellow distance runner Lauren Hill (Flat Rock, Mich./Flat Rock HS) would place third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase coming in with a final time of 11:39.21.  Middle distance runner Ashley Meyer (Shepherd, Mich./Shepherd HS) earned a third place finish in the 800-meter run clocking in at 2:25.11 while long sprinter Diamond Taylor (Southfield, Mich./Southfield HS) also placed third in the 400-meter timing in at 59.20.  Senior Elizabeth Willford (Gladwin, Mich./Gladwin HS) would compete in the 100-meter hurdles and place third overall with a final time of 15.95.  Willford was also a member of the 4x100-meter relay team consisting of teammates Elizabeth Sampson (Willis, Mich./Lincoln HS), Shavonne Roberson (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti HS) and Kelsey Bartoloni (Southgate, Mich./Southgate HS) that placed third coming in with a final time of 51.29.  The 4x400-meter relay team made up of Sarah Kawiecki (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS), Roberson, Taylor and Bartoloni earned a second place finish clocking in at 4:11.49.  Freshman Emerald Joiner (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) was the lone field event athlete to earn a top-finish for the Cardinals placing second in the shot put competition with a toss of 11.87 meters.

The men's team was led by senior Brian Bott (Buckley, Mich./Kingsley HS) who placed first in the hammer throw competition with a mark of 53.75 meters, just 1.75 meters shy of a NCAA DII National Provisional Qualifying mark.  Fellow throwers Matt Wilkinson (Mt. Clemens, Mich./De La Salle HS) and Jon Roosen (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) would earn second place finishes in their respective events, Wilkinson in the discus with a toss of 44.01 meters and Roosen in the shot put with a toss of 12.77 meters.  Sophomore high jumper Frank Sanders (Detroit, Mich./Sterling Heights HS) would earn a first place in the high jump competition clearing a bar of 1.98 meters while senior Trevor Opalewski (St. Clair Shores, Mich./South Lake HS) would earn a third place finish in the triple jump recording a mark of 10.88 meters.  Senior Josh Arnold (Clio, Mich./Clio HS) and sophomore Lee Chiatalas (Fenton, Mich./Linden HS) would compete in the open 400-meter run and place second and third overall coming in with final times of 51.02 and 51.17, respectively.  Freshman Deshawn Jones (St. Clair Shores, Mich./South Lake HS) competed in the 400-meter hurdles and clocked in at 1:02.53 which was good for a third place finish.  The 4x100-meter relay team consisting of Ricky Griffin (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS), David Foster (Port Huron, Mich./Port Huron HS), Raetron Bryant (Burton, Mich./Atherton HS) and James Walker (West Bloomfield, Mich./Walled Lake Central HS) earned a second place finish timing in at 42.94.  The 4x400-meter relay team made up of Chiatalas, Foster, Raetron and Walker would round out the meet for the Cardinals with a third place finish crossing the line at 3:28.64.

The Cardinals will be back in action again Friday (4/6) and Saturday (4/7) when they travel to East Lansing to compete in the Michigan State University hosted Spartan Invitational.