EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men’s and women’s track teams competed in the 2009 Spartan Invitational today (April 4) on the campus of Michigan State University.

The men had a successful showing as junior Eltaro Hooper (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln) took first place in the high jump with a height of 2.10 meters while senior Joe Dugall (Clinton Twp., Mich. / Chippewa Valley) finished in fourth place with a height of 2.00 meters. Dugall also took eighth in the javelin throw with a distance of 46.77 meters while junior Luke Dinnan (Midland, Mich.) finished tenth overall at 46.02 meters. Freshman Ryan Jayne (East Lansing, Mich.) finished first in the triple throw with a final distance of 13:69 meters. The Cardinals had three second place showings as junior Steve Genther (Laingsburg, Mich.) took second in the 5000 meter run with a time of 14:58.72, senior Sam Tilmon (Romulus, Mich.) placed second in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.85 and junior Jesse Evans (Cheboygan, Mich.) finished second in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 9:39.93.

Senior Sean LaPine (Harbor Beach, Mich.) finished third in the pole vault with a height of 4.50 meters and senior Dan Benjamin (Columbiaville, Mich. / Otisville-Lakeville) took ninth at 4.20 meters. Junior Scott Chevalier (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Dexter) took fourth place in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.15 while senior Sean Egan (Marysville, Mich.) finished seventh in the shot-put with a distance of 15.03 meters. Senior Len Weddel (East Tawas, Mich. / Tawas Area) took sixth place in the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:04.61 as senior Charlie Richards was right behind finishing seventh place at 4:04.75.

On the women’s side, sophomore Sjonne Mitchell (Clarkston, Mich. / Troy) took third place in the 400 meter dash. Freshman Chelsea Savage (Monroe, Mich.) finished fifth place in the 500 meter dash with a final time of 18:27.70 while junior Amber Catlin (Alma, Mich.) took sixth with 18:36.14. Freshman Samantha Roberts (Bullock Creek, Mich.) took fifth place in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 16.27. Senior Christina Ferguson (Athens, Ont. / Thousand Islands) finished sixth place in the triple jump with a final distance of 9.64 meters while senior Megan Haskin (Fairview, Mich.) took seventh place in the javelin throw with a distance of 33.86 meters. Sophomore Stacey Westphal (Corunna, Mich.) took tenth place overall in the pole vault event with a height of 2.85 meters.

The Cardinal track and field teams are back in action as they travel to Oxford, Ohio to compete in the Miami of Ohio Invitational (April 11).