ALLENDALE , Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's and women's track teams competed Friday (Feb. 11) and Saturday (Feb. 12) in the GVSU Big Meet.
The women started the meet Friday (Feb. 11) strong and were led by junior Ashley Meyer (Shepherd, Mich./Shepherd HS) who placed 28th overall in the invitational mile clocking in at 5:03.41. Teammates Megan Pittoors (Macomb, Mich./Dakota HS) and Jean Hollerbach (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich./Grosse Pointe South HS) would also earn a top finishes in the invitational 5,000-meter run crossing the line with final times of 18:09.65 and 18:18.31, good for 32nd and 37th. Earning a second place finish in the open 5,000-meter run was senior distance runner Libby Robinson (Saginaw, Mich./Swan Valley HS) who timed in at 18:39.29.
Strong performances carried over to Saturday (Feb. 12) where the Cardinals were led by junior Alycia Wright (Macomb, Mich./Lutheran North HS) who ran a Division II National provisional qualifying time of 2:15.23 in the open 800-meter run which was good for a second place finish. The distance medley relay team consisting of Wright, Ashton Morse (Essexville, Mich./Garber HS), Dana Stolicker (Deckerville, Mich./Deckerville HS), and Meyer placed seventh overall with a final time of 12:18.51. Wright was also a member of the 4x400-meter relay team consisting of Sarah Kawiecki (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage HS), Diamond Taylor (Southfield, Mich./Southfield HS), and Angela Brooks (Ortonville, Mich./Brandon HS) that placed third overall crossing the line at 3:57.64. Kawiecki would also earn a 13th place finish in the 400-meter dash coming in at 59.59.
The men started the meet Friday (Feb. 11) with strong finishes and were led by senior Derek Stone (Metamora, Mich./Lapeer East HS) who earned a 14th place finish in the invitational mile clocking in at 4:12.08. Also earning top finishes in the invitational 5,000-meter run were senior teammates Steve Genther (Laingsburg, Mich./Laingsburg HS) and Jeff Wilson (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon HS) who timed in at 14:39.65 and 14:55.90, respectively, good for 13th and 26th place finishes.
These performances carried over into Saturday (Feb. 12) and leading the way was senior Wilson who earned a second place finish in the 3,000-meter run clocking in at 8:35.40. Earning a 17th place finish in the 800-meter run was junior Josh Arnold (Clio, Mich./Clio HS) who crossed the line at 1:56.83. Freshman Frank Sanders (Detroit, Mich./Sterling Heights HS) would earn a fifth place finish in the high jump with a leap of 1.99meters, while freshman teammate Jonathan Roosen placed ninth in the shot put with a toss of 15.04meters. Raetron Bryant (Burton, Mich./Atherton HS) placed 36th overall in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.91 and teammate James Walker (West Bloomfield, Mich./Walled Lake Central HS) placed 16th in the 400-meter dash timing in at 50.64.
The Cardinals will be back in action again Friday (Feb. 19) when they travel to CMU to compete in the Jack Skoog Open.
