Sunday, February 28, 2010

Jarrett Mickens (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) and Steve Schubert (Lisle, Ill./Benet Academy) each recorded top-five finishes in the triple jump Sunday to lead the Valparaiso men’s track and field team as it concluded a seventh-place finish at the 2010 Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Crusaders tallied 17 points over the two-day meet for their seventh-place showing.  Milwaukee earned the team championship with 177 points.

Mickens, coming off a fifth-place finish Saturday in the long jump, leapt into All-Horizon League honors on Sunday with a runner-up placement in the triple jump, leaping 45’9 ¼”.  Schubert impressed as well, improving upon his fourth-best mark in Valpo history in the event with a jump of 45’0 ¼”, a mark that was good for fifth place.

Three other Crusaders also posted top-ten showings Sunday.  Eric Slenk (Holland, Mich./Christian), who qualified fifth for the 400m dash finals, finished in seventh place with a time of 51.01 seconds, while Mike Kash (Woodridge, Ill./Lemont Township) also finished seventh in the 60m hurdles, crossing the line in a season-best 9.18 seconds.  Back on the infield, Andrew Rixon (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) came up with a ninth-place finish in the shot put in his first turn at a league championship meet, recording a season-best mark of 44’8 ¼”.

The end of the Horizon League Championships also marks the end of Valparaiso’s 2010 indoor campaign.  The Crusader track and field squad reconvenes outdoors on March 27 at the Polar Bear Invitational in Marion, Ind.