Track & Field posts numerous top times

The MSU men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in the final day of the Meyo Invitational on Saturday at Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.

Three Spartans either tied or surpassed personal records at the meet.

Junior Erica Mann tied her personal best and placed fourth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.56.

Junior Spencer Beatty placed third in the Ryan Shay men’s 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:06.85, beating his personal best by more than 11 seconds.

In the men’s weight throw, sophomore Lonnie Pugh threw a personal-best 18.03 meters, putting him in seventh place.

Eight other Spartans placed in the top eight in their events, but junior Shane Wells was the only one to do so in two events. He placed seventh in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.06 and fifth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.80.

MSU will compete in the Grand Valley Big Meet next weekend at Grand Valley.

Men’s tennis defeats Ball State Saturday
The MSU men’s tennis team beat Ball State, 5-2, Saturday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility for its fourth consecutive win.

The Spartans, which improved to 6-2 overall, dominated the match from the start.

MSU won both doubles matches. Junior Jason Norville and senior Joe Vallee picked up the 8-4 victory, while Junior Clark Richardson and freshman Denis Bogatov also won, 8-5.

Bogatov, Norville and Richardson also all went on to win their singles matches. The Spartans won four of the six singles matches, with junior John Stratton winning the fourth, 7-6(5), 6-2.

Next up for MSU is a home match against Western Michigan at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.

Swimming & diving drops to Michigan
The MSU men’s swimming and diving team lost to Michigan, 163.5-119.5, Saturday in its final dual meet of the season.

Despite the loss, four Spartans recorded first-place finishes.

Senior diver Ivan Zalessov won the three-meter springboard with a school-record score of 380.25. Fellow diver senior David Garry recorded a 298.42 while winning the one-meter springboard.

Freshman Jacob Jarzen placed first in two swimming events.

He won the 50-meter butterfly by just .02 seconds and the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 49.33.

Junior Kevin Puskaric also recorded a win in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:00.77.