Thursday, April 21, 2011

Senior Jarrett Mickens (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) earned his third event victory of the year in the long jump, while sophomore Charlie Walesa (Chicago, Ill./Luther North) captured the long jump Thursday as a portion of the Valparaiso men's track and field team competed at the Anderson Invitational in Anderson, Ind.

Mickens, who has earned top-two finishes in the long jump in all five meets during the outdoor campaign, took top honors in the event for the third time this season on Thursday with a leap of 23'10 3/4”.  The jump was enough to take the title by more than four inches.  The senior also placed second in the triple jump with a mark of 46'2”, while he was also joined in the top-ten in that event by senior Steve Schubert (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy), who finished sixth with a jump of 43'5 1/4”, and redshirt sophomore Chris Hovan (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Christian), who recorded a PR of 41'10 1/2” to place eighth.

Meanwhile, Walesa earned his first career victory in the high jump outdoors on Friday, clearing a season-best 5'10 ¾” to take top honors in the event.  Elsewhere on the infield, freshman Sean Carey (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) finished the day fifth in the pole vault after vaulting 11'11 3/4”.

On the track, junior Derek Schnake (Chicago, Ill./Lincoln Park) led the way, running to a runner-up finish in the 1,500m run.  Schnake crossed the line in the event with a PR of 4:13.26 to place second.  Redshirt junior Keith Button (Farmington  Hills, Mich./Farmington) finished sixth in the same event, covering the distance in a season-best time of 4:20.44, while senior Ryan Ruppel (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) ran to a tenth-place showing in the 200m dash with a season-best effort of 23.77 seconds.

Valparaiso returns to action on Saturday, April 30 at the Stan Lyons Invitational in Indianapolis, Ind.  Action that day is slated for a 3 p.m. CDT start.