Fourth-place finishes Saturday from Sarah Drozdowski (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) and Kelley Freeman (Valparaiso, Ind./Chesterton) have the Valparaiso women’s track and field team in sixth place after the first day of action at the 2012 Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships in Youngstown, Ohio.

The Crusaders totaled 10 points on the first day of competition and lead both Wright State and Detroit.  Milwaukee is leading the field with 55 points.

Drozdowski nearly set a new school record on Saturday in the weight throw, registering a new PR in the process.  The sophomore unleashed a toss of 56’4 ½”, good for a fourth-place finish and just over an inch shy of Valpo’s program record in the event.

Meanwhile, Freeman matched her personal-best effort in the pole vault on Saturday, clearing 10’11 ½”.  The mark was good for a tie for fourth place and tied the freshman’s best height in the event from earlier this year, which sits just one-quarter inch of the Crusaders’ all-time record.

The Crusaders also tallied a fifth-place finish on Saturday in the distance medley relay.  The team of Claire Johnson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie), Kelli Wosick (Mount Prospect, Ill./Saint Viator), Grace Shemwell (Clinton, Iowa/Clinton) and Nicole Zehel (Wixom, Mich./Lutheran Westland) crossed the line in 12:37.76 for the fifth-place showing.

Three Crusaders also posted PRs on the first day of competition that rank among the program’s all-time top-five in their respective events.  Jessica Richardson (Columbus, Ind./North) finished in ninth place in the 5,000m run with a time of 18:10.27, the fifth-fastest effort in the event in program history.  Wosick crossed the line in 1:00.96 in the 400m dash, the fifth-best time all-time at Valpo, while Marissa Crafton (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) now ranks fourth in Crusader history in the long jump, leaping 16’9 ¼”.

Valparaiso will close out the league indoor championship meet on Sunday, with action from Youngstown starting at 8 a.m. CST.