UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's and women's track and field teams hosted the SVSU Indoor Classic tonight (Jan. 18). The meet was unscored and featured teams from Saginaw Valley, Oakland University, Olivet College, Alma College and Central Michigan University.
Men
Senior distance runner Greg Baade (Warren, Mich. / De La Salle Collegiate HS) took first place in the 5,000 meter run as he completed the race in 15:31.98 as teammate Eric Spitz (Holt, Mich.) finished seven seconds behind Baade in second position. In the men's mile run, Joseph Burelle (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stevenson HS) and Travis Toye (Davison, Mich.) finished in the top two spots with Burelle gaining the victory as he crossed the line in 4:28.83 with Toye coming in at 4:30.72.
Tyler Grob (Pinckney, Mich.) posted an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark in the pole vault competition as he cleared 4.88 meters. Grob was also the top finisher in the 400 meter dash with a mark of 52.10 seconds, while Josh Simmons (Saginaw, Mich. / Swan Valley HS) finished second behind Grob at 52.29 seconds.
Travis Toye and DaJuawn Wallace (Clinton Township, Mich. / Mt. Clemens HS) helped the Cardinals notch another one-two finish atop the men's 800 meter run as Toye finished in 1:59.87, while Wallace ended with a mark of 2:02.14.
Jon Wetters (Essexville, Mich. / Garber HS) recorded a first place finish in the 3k race as he crossed the line in 9:00.15, while the SVSU Men's 4x400 Relay team consisting of Tyler Grob, Raetron Bryant (Burton, Mich. / Atherton HS), Travis Toye and Lee Chiatalas (Fenton, Mich. / Linden HS) took top honors with a time of 3:31.34. Lee Chiatalas also finished runner-up in the 200 meter dash with a time of 23.05 seconds.
Deshawn Jones (St. Clair Shores, Mich. / South Lake HS) finished second in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.72 seconds, while Darell Myree (Franklin HS) posted a mark of 7.16 in the 60 meter dash finals to finish runner-up.
Women
On the women's side, Shavonne Roberson (Ypsilanti, Mich.) recorded a first place finish in the 400 meter dash with a time of 1:01.69 to gain top honors, while Diamond Taylor (Southfield, Mich.) led the way in the 800 meter competition as she crossed the line in 2:25.65.
The SVSU 4x400 Relay team consisting of Shavonne Roberson, Taylor Stepanski (Alpena, Mich.), Ola Hendler (Lansing, Mich. / Grand Ledge HS) and Diamond Taylor was victorious in their relay competition with a time of 4:01.88.
Emerald Joiner (Saginaw, Mich. / Arthur Hill HS) had a big night in the field events as she picked up wins in both the shot put and weight throw competitions. Joiner notched an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark in the shot put with a distance of 13.67 meters, while posting a mark of 15.94 meters in the weight throw.
Freshmen Yanisha Edwards (Flint, Mich. / Northwestern HS) and Kimberly Balls (Bridgeport, Mich. ) took the second and third positions in the 60 meter dash as Edwards posted a time of 8.11 seconds, while Balls came in at 8.16. Edwards also went on to take first place in the 200 meter dash with a mark of 26.00 seconds.
Senior Lauren Hill (Flat Rock, Mich.) completed the 3,000 meter run in 10:08.75 which was good enough for a provisional qualifying mark and second place in the distance race. High jumper Makenzie Frodle (Fraser, Mich.) took the top prize as she cleared the bar at 1.61 meters, while also finishing third in the long jump competition at 4.74 meters.
Lauren Little (Oak Park, Mich. / Berkley HS) took first place in the women's triple jump competition as she landed with a mark of 10.45 meters.
The Cardinals will be back in action again at home again next Friday (Jan. 15) for the 'The Cardinal'. Field events start at 3PM with running events beginning at 4PM.