UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men’s and women’s track teams performed well today as they hosted the Collegiate Open today (Jan. 16).

For the men, sophomore Dennis Jackson (Sterling Heights, Mich./Utica Henry Ford II) finished third place in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.15, while junior Scott Chevalier took fourth with a time of 7.19. The Cardinals had a strong showing in the 800 meter run taking three of the top four places. Junior Anthony Filipek (Caro, Mich./Kingston) finished first with a time of 1:55.84, freshman Josh Zang (Berkley, Mich.) took third with a time of 2:04.28 and senior Erik Lunning (Fairview, Mich.) finished in fourth place with a time of 2:07.01.

Saginaw Valley’s junior Ben Richards (Goodrich, Mich.) took the first place position in the one mile run with a final time of 4:22.29, while junior Steve Genther (Laingsburg, Mich.) took first in the 3000 meter run with a time of 8:44.09. Junior Derek Stone (Metamora, Mich./Lapeer East) finished first in the 5000 meter run with a time of 15:18.77 while freshman Nick Ekel (Elsie, Mich./Ovid-Elsie HS) took fourth. Junior Brock Humphries (Shelby Twp., Mich./Utica Eisenhower) took third place in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.91 and junior Ryan Irwin (Harbor Beach, Mich.) took fourth at 8.99.

The relay team of Filipek, Josh Arnold (Clio, Mich.), Charlie Richards (Goodrich, Mich.), and Logan Hebekeusaer (Corunna, Mich.) led Saginaw Valley to a first place finish in the 4x400 meter relay with a final time of 3:25.02. Seniors Kyle McDaniel (Yale, Mich.) took first in the high jump with a height of 1.98 meters and Joe Dugall (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley) finished second at 1.93 meters while junior Ryan Simmons (Port Austin, Mich./Kinde-North Huron) took third place with a height of 1.88 meters.

The Cardinals nearly swept the top three places of the pole vault competition. McDaniel and junior Luke Dinnan (Midland, Mich.) tied for first place with a height of 14-00 and seniors Sean LaPine (Harbor Beach, Mich.) and Dan Benjamin (Columbiaville, Mich./Otisville-Lakeville) both finished in the third place position with a height of 13-06. Junior Mark Badowsky (Lincoln Park, Mich.) took second place in the long jump with a distance of 6.66 meters, sophomore Trevor Opalewski (St. Clair Shores, Mich./South Lake) finished third place with a distance of 6.24 meters and freshman Ryan Jayne (East Lansing, Mich.) took fourth with 6.15 meters. Senior Sean Egan (Marysville, Mich.) finished second place with a distance of 15.69 meters in the shot put while junior Josh Koglin (Kimball, Mich./Marysville) took second in the weight throw with a distance of 17.03 meters.

On the women’s side, senior Sjonne Mitchell (Clarkston, Mich./Troy) took fourth place in the 200 meter dash finals with a time of 26.50. The Lady Cardinals had a solid performance in the 5000 meter with eight girls placing in the top ten. Freshman Chelsea Savage (Monroe, Mich.) finished in second place with a final time of 18:38.09, junior Amanda Roache (Clio, Mich.) placed third with a time of 18:43.68 and junior Amber Catlin (Alma, Mich.) finished fourth overall with a final time of 18:54.75.

Senior Leighann Dowell (Millington, Mich.) placed first in the 60 meter hurdle preliminaries with a qualifying time of 9:09 while freshman Samantha Roberts finished second with a time of 9:52. Dowell also took second overall in the long jump with a distance of 5.16 meters and fifth in the shot put with a distance of 11.78 meters.

The 4x400 meter relay team of Mitchell, Sarah Kawiecki (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage), Ashley Morrow (Millington, Mich.) and Angela Brooks (Ortonville, Mich./Brandon HS) took first place with a time of 4:09:49. Sophomore Stacey Westphal (Corunna, Mich.) finished in second place in the pole vault event with a height of 120 meters. Junior Emily Nugent (Benzonia, Mich./Benzie Central) took first place in the weight throw with a distance of 15.54 meters and also finished third in the shot put with a distance of 12.10 meters.

The Cardinals are back in action on Jan. 24 at the University of Michigan at noon.