ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men’s and women’s track teams participated in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships this weekend (Feb. 26-27) hosted by Grand Valley State University.

For the men, junior Marion Body (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights HS) took first place in the first heat of the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.33 while seniors Tony Filipek (Caro, Mich./Kingston HS) and Charlie Richards (Goodrich, Mich./Goodrich HS) took first and second place overall.  Filipek crossed the line at 1:50.47, breaking the previous GLIAC record of 1:52.44, and Richards timing in at 1:51.39. Body would also place third overall in the mile with a final time of 4:13. Senior Cortland Seaver (Freeland, Mich./Freeland HS) took second place in the first heat of the 3000-meter run timing in at 8:42.81 and senior Steve Genther (Laingsburg, Mich.) placed third overall with a time of 8:33.50.  Genther would also place second in the 5000-meter run with a time of 14:40.46.

The 4x400 relay team consisting of seniors Scott Chevalier (Ann Arbor, Mich./Dexter HS), Filipek, Richards and sophomore Josh Arnold (Clio, Mich./Clio HS) took sixth place crossing the line at 3:19.18 while the distance medley team of Richards, Body, Filipek and Derek Stone (Metamora, Mich./Lapeer East HS) took first place with a new GLIAC record of 9:55.26. Chevalier would also place second in the 60-meter dash with a final time of 6.88. Freshman Calvin Sullins (Adrian, Mich./Adrian HS) finished third overall in the triple jump with a distance of 13.77 meters while freshman Tyler Grob (Adrian, Mich./Adrian HS) placed fourth in the heptathlon and earned second in the 1,000-meter run as well as the 60-meter hurdles, within the heptathlon competition. Junior Aaron Wilkins (Schoolcraft, Mich. / Schoolcraft HS) finished the heptathlon in eighth place while placing third in the pole vault, within the heptathlon competition.

For the women, sophomore Sarah Kawiecki took seventh place in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.16. The relay team of sophomore Angie Brooks (Ortonville, Mich. / Brandon HS), Alycia Wright (Macomb, Mich./Lutheran North HS), Ashley Meyer (Shepherd, Mich./Shepherd HS) and Kawiecki earned a sixth place finish in the 4x400 with a time of 4:07.89. Freshman Chelsea Henderson (Ludington, Mich./Ludington HS) took seventh place in the shot put with a distance of 12.63 meters. Junior Stacey Westphal (Corunna, Mich./Corunna HS) and sophomore transfer Elizabeth Willford (Gladwin, Mich. /Gladwin HS) would earn top finishes in the pole vault, Westphal placing tied for sixth and Willford placing tied for eighth.

The SVSU men's track and field team finished the 2010 conferece meet in fourth place, while the women's team finished in ninth place.  Qualified members of the Saginaw Valley track teams will participate in the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships held in Albuquerque, New Mexico (March 12).