UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University track and field team hosted the 12th Annual Jet's Pizza Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Jan. 30-31). The Cardinals had a strong showing at the home meet, with the women earning multiple top-three finishes and the men winning five events.
Dominic Suliman and Corey Bowers traveled to South Bend, Indiana, to compete in the mile at the Meyo Invitational hosted by Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon. Suliman broke his own school record in the men's mile championship race after crossing the finish line second with a time of four minutes, 1.35 seconds. Suliman was the top finisher from NCAA Division II in that race, and his record-setting time clocked in as the sixth-fastest time in all of D2. Bowers set a new PR in the mile open with his 10th-place time of 4:07.57.
At home, Jenna Sweeney earned the lone win for the women with her time of 9:58.67 in the 3000m. SVSU had three top-five finishes and six top-10 times in the women's 3000m. Tara Szuper placed third (10:05.54), and Karissa Picard was fourth (10:07.54) to join Sweeney in the top five. Grace Harkenrider (8th, 10:17.46), Alexis Tracy (9th, 10:17.90), and Bailey Schmoldt (10th, 10:19.74) were the other three Cardinals in the top-10 of the event.
On the men's side of the 3000m, Nick McArdle finished on top with a time of 8:08.89. The men's team gathered all three top spots with Jack Lobodzinski in second (8:13.01) and Jacob Walker in third (8:13.13). Adam Thomas placed eighth with a time of 8:29.15 to give the men four top-10 placings.
Samuel Meriweather won the men's long jump with a best leap of 6.87m. Preston Kelsey was third in the event with a mark of 6.60m, while Christian Purchase was sixth with a jump of 6.39m.
Sawyer Moloy won the men's high jump after clearing the bar at 2.09m. Xavier Santiago was second after a clearance of 2.04m.
Noah Shaw and Andrew Quinn dominated the throws over the weekend. Shaw won the weight after a toss of 19.71m, and Quinn won the shot put with a heave of 17.80m. Shaw also recorded seventh in the shot put at 14.90m, while Kadyn Warner finished eighth with a throw of 14.77m.
Brin Ciglenecki and Madisyn Lundquist finished second in the men's and women's pole vault. Ciglenecki earned a clearance of 4.55m, while Lundquist cleared 3.62m. Noah Thames and Wilson Tschirhart tied for third in the men's vault with a best of 4.40m. Gracie Warner and Sami Potts tied for fourth on the women's side with a height of 3.32m.
Natalie Formsma competed in three events, with her best finish coming in the high jump, where she was second after clearing the bar at 1.62m. Formsma ran the 60-meter hurdle prelims on Friday, but didn't make it to the finals on Saturday. She was also in the long jump, finishing 12th with a mark of 5.05m.
Grace Collett was second in the 60m hurdle finals with a time of 8.74. Marisa Johnson was fifth in the finals with a time of 8.90.
Janae Hudson took second in the shot put (13.04m) and seventh in the weight throw (15.87m). Teammate, Timyah Meeks, was third in the shot put with 13.03m and sixth in the weight throw with a mark of 15.88m.
Katie Spicer finished fourth in the long jump with her mark of 5.26m, and Jayla Vautrin was fifth in the triple jump with a best leap of 10.23m.
The women's 4x400 relay team of Madisyn Lundquist, Mallory Farmer, Taylor Moyer, and Alicia Fields placed second with a time of 3:59.14.
The two women's DMR teams finished fourth and fifth. The team consisting of Bailey Schmoldt, Kelcie Pung, Evelyn O'Connor, and Karissa Picard clocked in at 12:16.70 to take fourth. The team of Grace Harkenrider, Clara Krupp, Sydney Fontaine, and Isabell Becker placed fifth with 12:21.59.
The men's 4x400 relay of Samuel Meriweather, Marcellis Johnson, Darryl Carter, and Nate Niederquell was second after a time of 3:17.51.
UP NEXT: The men's team travels to Chicago, Illinois, on Friday, February 6, to compete in the Lewis Invitational beginning at 6:00 p.m. (ET). The women's team hosts the annual W-C-W Tri Meet at home on Saturday, February 7, at noon (ET).
