UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University track and field team began 2026 with the annual SVSU Classic held inside the fieldhouse. The Cardinals saw four men and two women win events for the evening.
Dominic Suliman highlighted the day by nearly matching his SVSU men's indoor 800m record, finishing second with an NCAA qualifying time of 1:50.77 (6th in NCAA DII).
Samuel Meriweather was one of the winners on the men's side. Meriweather made his debut in the 200m, winning in 21.93 seconds, setting his collegiate personal best.
Jack Lobodzinski led the mile with a new personal best of 4:09.62, followed by Nick McArdle in third (4:12.21 PR) and Jacob Walker in fourth (4:12.76 PR). Adam Thomas secured eighth, also with a PR of 4:18.53, giving SVSU four in the top 10.
Brin Ciglenecki won the pole vault in his debut, clearing a personal-best 4.65m. Wilson Tschirhart took second (4.35m), and Noah Thames placed sixth (4.20m).
Andrew Quinn topped the shot put with a throw of 17.73m. Kadyn Warner claimed third and a new PR (14.84m). Noah Shaw finished fifth (14.37m), with his top showing as runner-up in the weight throw (17.64m).
Karissa Picard was among two Cardinal women to win, finishing the mile in 5:01.42. Five teammates set new PRs and placed in the top 10: Grace Harkenrider second (5:04.54), Jenna Sweeney third (5:05.56), Tara Szuper fourth (5:05.67), Bailey Schmoldt seventh (5:15.18), and Isabelle Becker eighth (5:19.17).
Timyah Meeks claimed victory in the weight throw (16.77m) and placed in the top three in shot put (11.78m). Janae Hudson earned two seconds with a PR in weight (15.85m) and shot put (13.17m). Raine Redding took fifth in the weight (PR 13.17m) and eighth in shot put (10.78m).
Jamison Dorst debuted with a top-three placing in the pole vault with a new PR height of 3.27m. Sami Potts matched her PR from the holiday classic when she placed third after clearing the bar at 3.27m. Gracie Warner did the same as Potts with her fifth-place finish that matched her PR of 3.12m (10-2.75).
Bryce Husen was fourth in the 800m with a time of 1:53.02, closely followed by Corey Bowers in sixth (1:53.55).
Abby Karst rounded out SVSU's top performances with a fifth-place 11.34m shot put.
The evening ended with the 4x400m relay races. The women's B team, consisting of Grace Collett, Mallory Farmer, Ava Gary, and Abby Kissling, finished their race in second with a time of 4:05.77. The C team of Natalie Formsma, Alicia Fields, Marisa Johnson, and Liv Rohr was third with a finish of 4:06.34. The A team of Sydney Fontaine, Bailey Schmoldt, Grace Harkenrider, and Isabelle Becker placed fifth with a finish of 4:08.23.
UP NEXT: The Cardinals will remain at home to host the Doug Hansen Open next Friday, January 23, at 2:30 p.m. (ET).
