Chris Honig (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard South [Indiana]) took top honors in the mile run with one of the best efforts in program history, while Steve Bartholomew (Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Township) won the weight throw for the fourth time on the season with yet another school-record effort as the Valparaiso men’s track and field team competed Saturday at the Chicagoland Championships in Chicago, Ill.

The Crusaders tallied 47 points on the meet, good for fifth place out of the 18 competing squads North Central College took top team honors with 215 points.

Honig outpaced a field of 41 other runners to take first place in the mile run, crossing the line in 4:17.09 to defeat North Central’s Ryan Carrigan by less than a second.  Honig’s time is the fifth-fastest in the event in Crusader history, and is less than four seconds off of the school-record mark of 4:13.0.

Bartholomew broke his own school record in the weight throw for the second consecutive weekend, registering a toss of 61’9 ¾”, nine inches farther than his effort last weekend at the Meyo Invitational.  The senior’s winning mark surpassed the runner-up’s distance by nearly nine feet.

Freshman Jarrett Mickens (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) continued his stellar campaign in the jumps, recording season-best marks in both events. Mickens recorded a distance of 44’0 ¾” in the triple jump to take third place, and also placed fifth in the long jump with a leap of 20’8 ½”.

Three other Valpo athletes also recorded top-five placements on the meet. Tom Heun (Brecksville, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) was the runner-up in the 55m hurdles, finishing the race in 8.16 seconds.  Rich Krupar (Elyria, Ohio/Midview) finished fifth in the 800m run, crossing the line in 1:58.86, while on the infield, Erik Lindamood (Bealeton, Va./Liberty) placed fourth in the shot put with a toss of 46’10 ¼”.

The men’s squad returns to the track Friday, February 22 as it travels to Milwaukee to take part in a triangular meet along with UIC.  The meet is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.