MT. PLEASANT, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to Central Michigan University Friday (Feb. 19) to compete in the Jack Skoog Open.

The Cardinals put on a great performance placing 20 athletes in the top-five. On the men’s side junior transfer Marion Body (Sterling Heights, Mich.) earned a first place finish in the 800-meter run, followed closely by freshman Tony Rasch (Perry, Mich.) who placed second, Body timing in at 1:55.94 and Rasch clocking in at 1:56.77. Placing second in both the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash was junior Scott Chevalier (Ann Arbor, Mich./Dexter HS) crossing the line at 6.93 and 22.79, respectively. Earning second and third place finishes in the 3,000-meter run were sophomore Jon Wetters (Essexville, Mich./Garber HS) and freshman Tyler Noble (Shepherd, Mich.), Wetters clocking in at 8:52.57 and Noble finishing at 8:56.30. The 4x400-meter relay team consisting of junior Marion Body, sophomore Josh Arnold (Clio, Mich.), and freshmen Tyler Grob (Pinckney, Mich.) and Tony Rasch would end the meet on a good note for the Cardinals placing second with a final time of 3:28.90.

On the women’s side sophomore transfer Elizabeth Willford (Gladwin, Mich.) would earn a first place finish in the pole vault with a height of 3.35meters and a fourth place finish in the long jump with a distance of 4.80meters. Fellow pole vaulter Stacey Westphal (Corunna, Mich.) would place third just behind Willford with a vault of 3.20meters. Placing first in the high jump was junior transfer Tiffany Norton (Flint, Mich./Carman-Ainsworth HS) who leaped a height of 1.65meters. Another jumper earning a top finish was senior Kayleen Driscoll (Flat Rock, Mich.) who placed fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 10.14meters. Freshman Chelsea Henderson (Ludington, Mich.) took third in the shot put with a new personal best of 12.15meters. Earning third place finishes in the 400-meter dash and the mile were sophomores Sarah Kawiecki (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS) and Ashley Meyer (Shepherd, Mich.), Kawiecki clocking in at 1:02.14 and Meyer timing in at 5:18.24. Ending the meet for the Cardinals was the 4x400-meter relay team consisting of junior transfer Alanah Pietryga (West Branch, Mich./Ogemaw Heights HS) and sophomores Sarah Kawiecki, Ashley Meyer, and Angela Brooks (Ortonville, Mich./Brandon HS) who finished first with a time of 4:17.67.

Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams will be back in action again Friday (Feb. 26) and Saturday (Feb. 27) when they travel to Grand Valley State University to compete in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference Championship meet.