Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Seven Valpo athletes have been named to the All Mid-Continent Conference Team following the completion of the Indoor Track and Field Championships last weekend.

Danielle Nunnelly (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) led the way for the Brown and Gold, tallying three podium finishes over the two-day meet. She finished second in the 3,000m run, finishing less than five seconds behind the winner with a time of 9:55.40.

Nunnelly crossed the line as runner-up in the one mile run as well. Her time of 4:56.92 improved on her second-best time in Valpo history in the event. She also posted a third-place finish in the 800m, moving into second on the Crusaders' all-time chart with her effort of 2:15.44.

Melanie Wilson (Saint Louis, Mo./Rosati-Kain H.S.) earned all-conference accolades for the second straight season. Wilson broke her own school records in the triple jump and the 60m hurdles at the meet. She recorded a second-place finish in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.99 seconds, while finishing third in the triple jump, leaping 38'5".

Amanda Body (Harlan, Ky./Harlan H.S.) also set two new school records at the conference meet. She smashed the previous Crusader record in the long jump by six and a half inches, leaping 18'8" on her way to winning the event. She also broke the record in the 200m dash twice, running a 25.72 in the preliminaries before lowering the mark to 25.62 seconds in the finals, finishing fifth.

The Brown and Gold also earned all-conference honors for the performance of the distance medley relay team for the third time in four seasons. The team of Jobeth Schmiesing (Mankato, Minn./Mankato West H.S.), Maggie Zellner (Downers Grove, Ill./Benet Academy), Ashley Billstrom (Hales Corners, Wis./Whitnall H.S.), and Laura Rolf (Rochester, Mich./Lutheran Northwest H.S.) crossed the line in first place while running 12:18.27, the second-fastest time in school history and 17 seconds ahead of runner-up Western Illinois. It is the second time in the last three years the Valpo DMR team has won the event.

The seven all-conference selections mark an all-time high for the Crusaders, who set a team record by tallying 81 points at the championships.