UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. — The Saginaw Valley State University track and field team claimed 17 wins at the Doug Hansen Open on Friday afternoon inside the SVSU Fieldhouse. In addition, the Cardinals collected an impressive number of top-five finishes and personal-best marks throughout the meet.
On the women's side, Timyah Meeks and Janae Hudson swapped positions between the weight throw and shot put, each taking first in one event and second in the other. Meeks opened with a winning toss of 15.95m in the weight throw. In the shot put, she followed just behind Hudson, who threw a personal-best 13.34m to claim first. Meeks took second with a mark of 11.62m in the shot put, while Hudson was runner-up in the weight throw with a best effort of 15.64m.
Sami Potts achieved a new PR in her win during the pole vault event after she cleared the bar at 3.42m. On the track, Kinsie Jacques also set a PR in her win when she crossed the finish line at five minutes and 14.71 seconds in the women's mile.
Marisa Johnson finished the day with three top-three finishes, including a win in the triple jump with a collegiate debut mark of 10.65m in that event. She placed second in the women's 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.10 seconds and the 200m with a time of 26.48.
Mallory Farmer (1st, 60m, 8.19 / 4th, 200m, 26.93) collected two top-five times, including one win in the 60-meter dash. Grace Collett also had two top-five results when she won the 60-meter hurdles in 8.82 seconds and was fifth in the 200m after a time of 27.20.
Taylor Moyer won the 200m with a personal best time of 26.07, and Tori Henson was the winner in the long jump with a best mark of 5.03m.
Winners on the men's side started with Sawyer Moloy winning the high jump with a clearance of 2.14m, .04m away from his PR in the event.
Darryl Carter won the men's 60m dash in his collegiate debut with a time of 6.97 in the final race. Carter had qualified after finishing second overall in the prelims with a time of 6.99.
Noah Thames won the pole vault with a height of 4.20m. Myles Linden finished the 800m with a PR of 1:56.85 to win the race. Preston Kelsey finished on top of the long jump standings with a mark of 6.45m, and Sam Meriweather won the triple jump with a collegiate debut of 12.18m. Meriweather collected a top-five finish in the 60m with a time of 7.18 in the finals that was good enough for fourth, after qualifying in the prelims with a 7.17.
Noah Shaw (weight, 17.58m) and Andrew Quinn (shot put, 16.46m) won the men's throwing events to finish off the top performances for the team.
The Cardinals added a slew of top-three places as well. Alicia Fields was the runner-up in the women's 60m dash after her time of 8.21 fell just .02 seconds short of teammate Farmer. Jayla Vautrin set a PR in the long jump with a mark of 5.01m and a debut jump in the triple of 10.16m to place second in both events. Jamison Dorst (pole vault) and Alexis Tracy (mile) placed second in their respective events. Dorst cleared the bar at 3.27m to match her PR in the event, while Tracy hit a new PR in the mile with a time of 5:17.34. Kendall Wilcox made it over the high jump bar at 1.52m to tie for second with teammate Natalie Formsma in the event. Formsma clocked a 9.61 in the 60m hurdles for third. Wilcox debuted in the 60m hurdles with a time of 10.43 to place sixth.
Christian Purchase placed second in the men's high jump with a height of 1.74m. Purchase competed in the 60m hurdles (2nd, 9.49) and the shot put (7th, 13.19m) as well. His mark in the shot put was a new PR for the 2024 GLIAC Indoor Freshman Field Athlete of the Year. Colden Gray was second in the 800m with a collegiate debut time of 2:00.61. Nathan Vargo was the runner-up in the mile with a debut time of 4:30.03, while Marcellis Johnson set a new PR in the 400m with a second-place time of 50.47.
Wilson Tschirhart placed third in the men's pole vault with a height of 4.05m. Matthew Gazzarato was third in the 60m dash with a time of 7.11. He clocked a 7.10 in the prelim race. Justin Bradford debuted in third for the Cardinals in the mile with a time of 4:42.16. Andy Foshag set a new PR in the 3000m with a time of 8:37.87. Nate Niederquell placed third in the 400m with a time of 50.41, and Zachary Harlan was third in the 200m after a debut time of 22.42.
For the women, Madison Lundquist was third in the 200m with a time of 36.86. Katie Spicer placed third in the long jump with a PR of 5.00m, and Gracie Warner was third in the pole vault with a PR of 3.12m. Warner also debuted in the 200m with a time of 28.69. Emelia MacDonald was the final Cardinal to earn third place with her PR of 5:14.34 in the mile.
OTHER PR TIMES
Sarah Gray - shot put, 9.58m
Ava Gray - shot put, 9.68m
Andrew Commeret - 3000m, 8:55.61
Landon Mars - 3000m, 8:58.43
OTHER CARDINAL DEBUTS
Evelyn O'Connor - mile, 5:18.63
Kelcie Pung - mile, 5:28.70
Skylar Jess-Isenegger - 800m, 2:02.86
Stewart Waters - 3000m, 8:51.08
Ethan Sellers - 3000m, 8:52.41
Connor Clor - 3000m, 9:14.81
UP NEXT: The Cardinal track and field team will host the 12th Annual Jet's Pizza Invitational next weekend on Friday and Saturday, January 30-31. Day one is scheduled to begin with the multis at 11:00 a.m. (ET).
