Saturday, January 17, 2004

Valparaiso University's men's track and field team set two new school records, including one meet record, as the Crusaders earned a third place finish in the eight team Carthage Division I Invitational held in Kenosha, Wis. on Saturday.

The Crusaders earned 88 points, trailing just Marquette (116.5) and DePaul (111) in the standings.

Bryan Bell (Bellevue, Neb./Bellevue East H.S.) broke Valpo's school record in the weight throw with a toss of 48'1 ¾", to finish in fourth place in the event. Bell bettered Matt Larson's 2003 mark of 47'2 ¼". He also earned a seventh place finish in the shot put on the afternoon with a toss of 44'9 ½".

The other school record set by the Crusaders was in the 4x200m relay. Raphael Awoseyin (Port Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria/Greater Tomorrow S.S.) , Joe Dwyer (Lansing, Ill./TF South H.S.), Elliot Powell (Orange, Calif./Santa Ana H.S.), and Jeff Moscinski (Rockford, Ill./Christian Life H.S.) bettered Valpo's 2003 mark by 1.44 seconds with a time of 1:32.01. The time also set a new meet record, bettering Marquette's 2002 time by .21 seconds.

Powell also won the 55m dash in the meet with a time of 6.64 seconds, while Dwyer tied for third (6.77 seconds). Awoseyin also tallied a victory in the meet, doing so in the 200m dash with a time of 23.19 seconds.

In the 800m run, Matthew Wheeler (Dixon, Ill./Dixon H.S.) finished in second place with a time of 2:00.06, less than a second off of the lead. Kyle Jones (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) finished sixth in the event with a time of 2:01.55.

In the 55m hurdles, Sean Barfield (University Place, Wash./Curtis H.S.) finished third with a time of 8.08 seconds, while Brian Schultz (Sheboygan, Wis./Sheboygan H.S.) was seventh (8.24) and Adam Wierciak (Ottawa, Ill./Marquette H.S.) was eighth (8.25).

Back on the infield, Brandon Shreve (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield H.S.) finished in fourth place in the pole vault, clearing 11'6 ¼", while Josh Stamper (DeMotte, Ind./Kankakee Valley H.S.) was tied for fifth with a leap of 10'11 ¾".

Todd Goodrick (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester H.S.) placed sixth in the weight throw (46'8") and eighth in the shot put (44'11 ½"), while Jeff Swihart (Goshen, Ind./Northwood H.S.) was eighth in the weight with a toss of 42'0 ½".

Valparaiso will return to action next Saturday afternoon as the Crusaders travel to the Windy City to compete in the Chicago Invitational.