Saturday, December 04, 2010

Senior Jarrett Mickens won the long jump and finished in second place in the triple jump Saturday as the Valparaiso men's track and field team opened the 2010-2011 indoor season in Normal, Ill. at the Early Bird Open, hosted by Illinois State.

Mickens registered a top leap of 22'0 3/4” in the long jump to take the event victory, jumping nearly three inches farther than his closest competitor.  His mark of 46'3 1/2” in the triple jump was good for a runner-up finish, while his efforts in both events Saturday were less than an inch shy of his indoor PRs.

Mickens was joined by a pair of his teammates in the top-11 in the triple jump final standings.  Fellow senior Steve Schubert posted a sixth-place finish in the event, leaping 44'1 1/4”, while sophomore Chris Hovan set a new indoor PR in the triple jump with a mark of 39'11 1/4”, good for an 11th-place showing.  Elsewhere on the infield, freshman Tyler Rocco notched a solid performance in the shot put, recording a toss of 46'10 1/4”.  The mark was good for eighth place and was just six inches shy of Valpo's all-time top-five.

On the track, freshman Julian Smith stood out in his Crusader debut, cracking Valpo's top-fives in a pair of sprints.  Smith covered the 60m course in the heats in 7.07 seconds, the third-best effort in Valpo history in the event and qualifying third for the event finals.  He then finished fourth in the finals with a time of 7.13 seconds.  The rookie then crossed the line in the 200m dash in 22.96 seconds, tying for the fifth-fastest race by a Crusader all-time.

Valparaiso will not take to the track again until Saturday, Jan. 14, when the Crusaders travel to Allendale, Mich. to compete at the Bob Eubanks Open.