(Saginaw, MI) - The Men's track and field team traveled back to Saginaw Valley on Friday, January 19 for the SVSU Doug Hansen Open. The team opened some eyes and took steps in the right direction. As they earned 3 NCCAA Qualifiers, 12 personal records and 2 event wins.
The success started early, as Micah Bauer (Freshman; Traverse City, MI) ran an NCCAA qualifying time in the Mile by finishing in 4:32. The team then had two athletes qualify in the 200-meter dash. Both Franklin Swanson (Freshman; Canton, MI) and Nikao Williams (Freshman; New Haven, MI) earned an NCCAA bid with times of 23.04 and 23.14 seconds. The qualifying marks also are personal bests for both of the Cardinals.
Jake Ramirez (Freshman; Irvine, CA) won the Triple Jump with a distance of 12.12 meters. One of the biggest highlights of the night was the Men's 4x400 relay who won the event with a time of 3:33. The relay was comprised of Zak Schroeder (Sophomore; Napoleon, OH), Williams, Dylan Anderson (Freshman; Ottawa Lake, MI) and Dillan Johns (Freshman; Madison Heights, MI).
The Cardinals earned 10 more personal records, seven of which came from the sprinters. Johns, Schroeder and Anderson also earned personal records in the open 400. Schroeder led the way with a 53.48, followed by Anderson in 53.91 and Johns in 54.87. Also in sprinting events, Swanson and Williams earned their second personal record in the 60-meter dash. Swanson led the way with a time of 7.11 seconds, followed by Williams in 7.28 seconds.
The distance group had four personal records. Luke Bentz (Junior; Fort Wayne, IN) and Dominic Catallo (Freshman; Westland, MI) had personal records in the 800-meter dash. Bentz finished in a time of 2:02, followed by Catallo in 2:11. In the mile Theodore Eising (Senior; Royal Oak, MI) and Adam Fisch (Sophomore; Caro, MI) ran personal records. Eising finished in 4:47 and was followed by Fisch in 5:08.
In throwing events, Scott Smith threw a personal record distance in Shot Put of 11.79 meters.
The Cardinals also had three athletes make their collegiate debut. Bauer in the Mile, along with Freshman Dylan Ladmirault (Freshman; Port Huron, MI). Also making a collegiate debut was Elijah Boye (Sophomore; Westland, MI) in the 60 meter hurdles and finished with a time of 10.34 seconds.
The team will once again be in action on Saturday, January 27 at Hillsdale College for the Hillsdale Wide Track Classic.
