The Cardinal Men's and Women's Track teams sprang back into action with the Cedarville University Yellow Jacket Open in Cedarville Ohio. While the teams competed in their first outdoor meet of the year, the temperatures felt more like what the teams see during the indoor season. The forecasted high was 36 degrees, but that didn't stop the teams from debuting their talents on the track for the first outdoor meet.

WOMEN
Sprints
The women had one lone sprinter on the day. In a meet where training was the emphasis, Elizabeth Mathews (FR/Canton, MI) competed in the 100m, the 200m, and the 400m dashes. She ran very well in her first ever collegiate outdoor 400m race. She followed that up with a solid 100m, and later the 200m dashes.

Distance
The Cardinal distance squad contested the 800m and 1500m races on Saturday. They too had training as the focus of the day. In the 1500m Brie Schofield (SO/Belleville, MI) saw the first action where she ran well in her heat. Stephanie Johnston (FR/Brantford, ON) led the way in the second heat, both for the CUAA women, and the rest of the field. She won her heat and was not far of the school record. Courtney Dykema (FR/Birch Run, MI), Sidney Bosley (SO/Canton, GA), and Kelsey Riley (SO/Milford, MI) followed her running solid times in cold conditions. Later in the 800m Dykema and Johnston posted top times for the cardinal women in the second section of the race, while Schofield and Riley were joined by Katherine Fowler (FR/Riga, MI) in the 3rd section. All ladies ran very well against some tough competition.

MEN
Sprints
The men had the same focus on the meet as the women. The week's tough training, the cold weather, and a strong headwind set the teams up for slower than expected times. However, the men were able to battle through it and ran very well despite the conditions. In the 400m David Gaynier (FR/Carleton, MI) ran a workman like effort in his first race since a hamstring injury during indoor. He came back in the 200m for a solid 1-2 on the day. In the 100m Bryant Hudson (FR/Flushing, MI) also debuted his first races since an injury during the indoor season. He turned in top times in the 100m and 200m for the men, with his 100m time placing 7th overall. He was followed closely by Herman Mason (FR/Lansing, MI), Antwaan Burt (JR/Oak Park, MI), Kane McGirt (FR/Ann Arbor, MI), and Blake Hisabelk (SO/Flushing, MI). Brandon Crayne (SO/Riverview, MI) joined the action in the 200m where he ran a solid race.

Distance
The men's distance team ran similarly to the women, contesting the 800m and the 1500m. In the 1500m Nate Heierman (FR/Clarkston, MI) turned in the top time winning his heat pulling Jacob Bailey (FR/Garden City, MI) and Joseph Brinton (FR/Portland, OR) through the race. Ryan Bjellquist-Ledger (SR/Garwood, NJ) and Andrew Gardner (JR/Scotts, MI) ran solid times in the heat previous to them. Heierman, Bailey, and Brinton tested their skills at the 800m where Heierman led the way, and Brinton and Bailey turned in decent times for their first outdoor 800m on the year.

Throws
In an early meet like this the meet officials often have the field events contest 4 throws or jumps with no finals. This was the case today where in the Shot Put Joshua Berry (FR/Trenton, MI) and Christopher Deneen (SO/Hemlock, MI) threw great for their first outdoor meet. Berry took the cake with a 9th place overall finish and better throw than any indoor meet. Adam Koch (JR/Fort Wayne, IN) and Deneen threw well in the Hammer throw while they worked through technique issues with Coach Guhn. The Javelin turned into the premier event for the men's throwers. Jordan Foster (SR/Las Vegas, NV) and Robert Duff Jr (SR/Crosswell, MI) threw very well into a headwind placing 3rdand 4th overall in the meet. The final event of the day was the Discus. Connor Blanch (SO/Grandville, MI), Koch, Berry, and Deneen ended the day well with Koch placing 9th on his second throw.

Though the weather conditions didn't help performance on the day, the teams battled them well and had a great day. With the week off this week the teams will re-group for their first conference action when they travel to Siena Heights for the Don Klienow Invite on April 11th.