Monday, February 28, 2005

Laura Arloszynski (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield H.S.) and Melanie Wilson (Saint Louis, Mo./Rosati-Kain H.S.) both set new school records on Monday during the first day of the Mid-Continent Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships held in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Arloszynski turned in a time of 7.96 seconds in the 60m dash during the preliminary heat, bettering Makyba Lyons 1999 time of 7.98 seconds. The sophomore advanced to the semifinal round but did not qualify for Tuesday's final.

Wilson continued to improve upon her own school mark in the 60m hurdles. The freshman heads into the finals as the second seed with a time of 9.00 seconds. Wilson was also Valpo's top finisher in the 200m dash but did not qualify for finals, placing tenth with a time of 25.74 seconds. Wilson also finished sixth overall in the long jump for the Brown and Gold with a leap of 17'8 ¾".

Holly Hagen (Hobart, Ind./Hobart H.S.) led Valpo in the weight throw, earning a runner-up finish with a toss of 52'6 ¾". Emilie Marsicek (Spalding, Mich./Carney-Nadeau H.S.) and Rachel Liptak (Temecula, Calif./Temecula Valley H.S.) also scored for the Crusaders in the event, finishing sixth and seventh respectively with marks of 44'8 ¼" and 43'7".

Valpo's distance medley relay of Rachel Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit H.S.), Mary Frisch (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton H.S.), Jennifer Plaskota (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley H.S.), and Kristy Popp (Bowman, N.D./Bowman H.S.) placed third with a time of 13:11.74.

The only other final held on day one was the 3,000m, but the Crusaders failed to score in the event. Danielle Nunnelly (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) led Valpo with a ninth place finish with a time of 11:24.21.

In the other preliminary race, Maggie Zellner (Downers Grove, Ill./Benet Academy) advanced to the finals of the 400m with a time of 59.97 seconds.

Valpo finished the first day in fourth place with 22 points through four events, trailing third place Southern Utah by just three. Oral Roberts leads with 51 points while Western Illinois is second with 37 points. UMKC is fifth with 15 points and Chicago State tallied 3 on Monday.

The meet will conclude on Tuesday in Flagstaff with events beginning at 11 a.m. CST.