Saginaw Valley State University Athletics will be releasing a series of student-athlete spotlights, which will feature some of our Cardinal senior student-athletes from the 2019-20 academic year. Stay tuned to www.svsucardinals.com to get to know our SVSU seniors a bit more.

Next up in our series is Men's Cross Country / Track & Field student-athlete Tellis Donajkowski. Tellis is a native of Alpena, Michigan who has been a member of the Cardinal Cross Country and Track & Field teams the past four and a half seasons. He specialized in distance events, including the Mile, 3K, 5K, 8K and 10K. 

Donajkowski's favorite spot on campus is the SVSU Fieldhouse, which houses the indoor track & field facility. It was pretty much his second home throughout his time competing at SVSU. 

His favorite memories during his time were when the men's team put together incredible performances at the 2016 and 2018 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. The Cardinals placed 10th in 2016 and sixth in 2018 in the nation amongst supremely talented fields on the course. It made him proud to be part of such a hard-working program. Furthermore, witnessing his teammates display the fitness that they all worked so hard to gain was nothing short of inspiring. 

Tellis graduated this past December with his bachelor's degree in psychology. He recently accepted a position as a Case Manager for the Saginaw County Community Mental Health Authority. He is excited to begin his career in professional psychology and will be pursuing a graduate degree in the near future.

Outside of athletics, Donajkowski enjoys hanging out with close friends and family, playing various sports and watching movies. He says he is good at quoting movies, dancing and moving his eyebrows. 

One of his favorite trips during his time at Saginaw Valley was when he and some teammates rented a tiny house at altitude in Big Bear, California from May - August 2018. They drove three packed cars and had memorable stops in Arvada, Colorado and Hurricane, Utah before arriving in Big Bear. He spent the summer training, working at bike shop and enjoying the company of his teammates while preparing for the fall cross country season.  

SVSU Track & Field Head Coach Rod Cowan on Tellis Donajkowski...

"Tellis provided the men's cross country and track & field teams with rock solid leadership. Through out his career I always new that I could depend on Tellis, whether it was planning training runs or team meals. He will be missed!"