The Valparaiso University track & field teams returned to meet action for the first time since late November on Friday night, turning in impressive performances at Grand Valley State in Allendale, Mich. Valpo was led by Katherine Germann (Cincinnati, Ohio/ Finneytown) for the women and Ben Sekuloski (Lowell, Ind./Lowell) for the men. The two juniors each earned first-place finishes, and the men’s team took fourth in the team standings.

How It Happened

• Germann won the 5000-meter run with a 17:54.67. She also set a personal record as well as the team’s best time in the event this season. Sekuloski won the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.57.
• TJ Weinzimmer (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) also took home a first-place finish, his in the triple jump with a mark of 43-6½.
• In the triple, junior Anne Mou(Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park) finished fourth with a mark of 35-8. Mou also competed in the long jump, recording 16-2½.
• In the men’s 800-meter run, senior Connor Hickey (Peru, Ill./LasSalle-Peru) set a personal record and finished fifth in the event, recording a time of 1:55:65.
• Jack Mader (Granger, Ind./Penn) led the way for Valpo in the 5000-meter run, finishing third and with a time of 15:03.93. Also in the 5000, Dominic Paoletti (Monroe, Mich./St. Mary) established his new best, crossing the line at 15:13.22, good for a fifth-place finish.
• Shannon Lahey(Dixon, Ill./Dixon) landed herself a PR with a 16-3¼ long jump.
• Ignacio Veloz Bonilla set his personal best with a time of 4:21.27 in the mile, taking ninth in the process.
• In the men’s shot put, Jake Rasawehr (Celina, Ohio/Celina) took home seventh with a toss of 45-9¾. In the women’s shot put, Michelle Pierce (Indianapolis, Ind./Heritage Christian) led the squad with a mark of 31-10.
• Sierra Fischer (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield) led the women in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:00.92.
• Two Valpo athletes finished neck-and-neck in the women’s 800-meter dash. Junior Taylor Justison (Chatham, Ill./Glenwood) came in at 2:28.60. She was followed closely by freshman teammate Maranda Donahue (Delton, Mich./Delton-Kellogg), who came in at 2:29.05.

Up Next

Valpo returns to action on Feb. 1 with a pair of instate meets. Some Valpo athletes will be at Purdue in for the Fred Wilt Open, while others head to Notre Dame for the Meyo Invitational.