MIDLAND, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's and women's track and field teams competed today (4/14) in the Northwood Open.  The Cardinals competed well and had three athletes, one male and two female, earn NCAA DII Provisional Qualifying marks.

The women's team was led by a flock of middle distance athletes who swept in the 1,500-meter run.  Senior Alycia Wright (Macomb, Mich./Lutheran North HS) would finish first coming in with a NCAA DII Provisional Qualifying time of 4:33.71.  Wright was followed closely by teammates Emily Short (Tawas, Mich./Tawas Area HS) and Ashley Meyer (Shepherd, Mich./Shepherd HS) who placed second and third recording times of 4:41.80 and 4:41.90, respectively.  Meyer would also compete in the 800-meter run and earn a third place finish clocking in at 2:16.89.  Distance runners Chelsea Savage (Monroe, Mich./St. Mary's Catholic Central HS) and Lauren Hill (Flat Rock, Mich./Flat Rock HS) would earn top finishes, Savage in the 5,000-meter and Hill the 3,000-meter steeplechase, timing in at 18:20.09 and 11:39.88, respectively.  Sophomore Shavonne Roberson (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti HS) would place third in the 100-meter dash clocking in at 12.86.  Roberson was also a member of both the first and second place 4x400 and 4x100-meter relay teams.  The 4x400-meter relay team consisted of Roberson, Meyer, Diamond Taylor (Southfield, Mich./Southfield HS) and Angela Brooks (Ortonville, Mich./Brandon HS) while the 4x100-meter relay team consisted of Roberson, Elizabeth Sampson (Willis, Mich./Lincoln HS), Elizabeth Willford (Gladwin, Mich./Gladwin HS) and Kelsey Bartoloni (Southgate, Mich./Southgate HS). 

The men's team was led by senior Jon Wetters (Essexville, Mich./Garber HS) who earned a first place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplchase and crossed the line with a NCAA DII Provisional Qualifying time of 9:18.04.  Teammates Brian Bott (Buckley, Mich./Kingsley HS) andDavid Foster (Port Huron, Mich./Port Huron HS) also earned first place finishes, Bott in the weight throw (53.96 meters) and Foster in the 400-meter run (49.15).  Foster was also a member of the first place 4x100-meter relay team consisting of Ricky Griffin (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS), Lee Chiatalas(Fenton, Mich./Linden HS), and Eric Osley (St. Clair Shores, Mich./South Lake HS) that clocked in at 42.73.  Osley would also compete in the 100-meter dash and place third overall recording a final time of 11.15.  Teammates Deshawn Jones (St. Clair Shores, Mich./South Lake HS) and Trevor Opalewski (St. Clair Shores, Mich./South Lake HS) both competed in the 400-meter hurdles placing second and third overall timing in at 57.72 and 58.20, respectively.  Middle distance runners Drew Meylan (Bay City, Mich./Bay City Western HS) and Joseph Burelle (Sterling Heights, Mich./Stevenson HS) would compete in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter and place third and second overall crossing the line at 1:53.83 and 4:05.46.  Meylan was also a member of the second place 4x400-meter relay team that crossed the line at 3:20.09 and was joined by teammates Chiatalas, Foster and Raetron Bryant (Burton, Mich./Atherton HS).  Bryant also competed in the triple jump competition and placed second overall with a mark of 12.50 meters.  Tyler Grob (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney HS) and Frank Sanders (Detroit, Mich./Sterling Heights HS) also competed in the jumps, Grob in the pole vault (4.55 meters) and Sanders in the high jump (1.98 meters), and earned third and second place finishes.  Junior transfer Eric Spitz (Holt, Mich./Holt HS) earned a third place finish in the 10,000-meter run clocking in at 32:23.50. 

The Cardinals will be back in action again next weekend (4/18-20) when they compete in the Mt. San Antonio College hosted Mt. SAC Relays.