UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - Seven members of the Saginaw Valley State University men's and women's track and field teams started their journey at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships today (March 8) and tomorrow (March 9).
Women
The Lady Cardinals were led on Friday by their distance medley relay (DMR) team consisting of Emily Short (Tawas, Mich. / Tawas Area), Diamond Taylor (Southfield, Mich.), Taylor Stepanski (Alpena, Mich.) and Lauren Hill (Flat Rock, Mich.).
The DMR squad finished sixth in the competition with a mark of 11:42.30. The finish earned Short, Roberson, Stepanski and Hill All-American honors, the second straight year at Indoor Nationals (11:48.53 - Wright, Taylor, Pittoors, Meyer).
Stepanski also competed in the 800 meter prelims on Friday, but was unable to qualify for the final as she recorded a 13th place finish with a time of 2:12.56.
Sophomore Emerald Joiner (Saginaw, Mich. / Arthur Hill) finished in 15th position at Indoor Nationals with a throw of 43 feet 10 3/4 inches in the shot put competition.
Men
Senior Tyler Grob (Pinckney, Mich.) currently sits in 11th place with 2,742 points after four events on day one of the men's heptathlon competition. In the first two events, Grob finished eighth in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.269 while placing 12th in the long jump with a distance of 20 feet 5 3/4 inches.
In events No. 3 and 4, Grob managed a seventh place showing in the shot put with a mark of 40 feet 6 inches before finishing up day one with an eighth place finish in the high jump clearing 6 feet 1 inch.
Frank Sanders (Detroit, Mich. / Sterling Heights) was the other male representing SVSU at the Indoor Nationals. Sanders competed in the men's high jump competition and recorded a 10th place finish with a height of 6 feet 8 3/4 inches.
Follow live coverage of the 2013 NCAA Indoor National Championships (links below)
Tyler Grob - Pole Vault (3:30 p.m.)
Emily Short - 3,000 meter (5:40 p.m.)