HILLSDALE - The Saginaw Valley State University track & field teams had some great performances to round-out competition at the 2015 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Outdoor Championships, hosted at the Ken Herrick Track by Hillsdale College.
Taylor Stepanski's performance in the women's 800 Meter Run highlighted the afternoon for the Cardinals, as she claimed the championship in the event, turning in an NCAA Provisional qualifying time of 2:09.59. It was also a school record for the outdoor season. She was the GLIAC Indoor Champion in the same event and the national runner-up. Her sister and teammate Paige Stepanski recorded a provisional in the same race, finishing fifth in the event with a mark of 2:12.96.
The 4 x 100 Meter Relay Team of Domonique Smith, Kimberly Balls, Devyn Powell and Bria Williams finished fourth overall with a time of 48.46 seconds. Another relay team, the 4 x 400 Meter squad, posted a fifth place showing with a mark of 3:53.71. That team consisted of Powell, Balls, Paige Stepanski and Lina Davis.
Chantelle Fondren also scored in the event for the Lady Cardinals, finishing in seventh place in the 1,500 Meter Run. She crossed the finish line with a time of 4:36.39.
The men were led by a fifth place finish in the 5,000 Meter Run by Joey Southgate. He crossed the line in a time of 14:53.84 in the distance event.
Andrew Middleton had a sixth place showing in the 800 Meter Run, as he finished at 1:53.35 for the race. There was another sixth place showing in the 4 x 400 Meter Relay, as Josh Simmons, Elias Chiatalas, James Walker and Andrew Mudd ran to a sixth place showing with a mark of 3:15.88.
The 4 x 100 Meter Relay team, which also featured Simmons and Mudd, along with Brandon Love and Travon Phillips, finished in the points with a seventh place finish and a time of 42.20 seconds.
Robert Tarpley had a seventh place finish in the Triple Jump, scoring points with a distance of 13.95 meters (47'1.75"). Teammate Ian Rudel was eighth in the Pole Vault, as he crossed over the bar at a height of 4.50 meters (14'9").
The women finished in eighth place overall with a point total of 33. The men also finished in the eighth slot with 39 points. Grand Valley State University won the event on both the women's and men's sides.
There will be a series of last chance meets next weekend, as SVSU looks to improve marks and have student-athletes qualify for the 2014 NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships, which will be hosted from May 21-23 at Grand Valley State University.