Freshman Sarah Drozdowski (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) continued to move up the Crusader all-time charts in the throws as the Valparaiso women’s track and field team completed its final tuneup for the upcoming Horizon League Championships on Saturday, making the short trip south to compete at the Boilermaker Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind.

Drozdowski posted a pair of top-ten finishes in the throws on Saturday, the highlight being a new PR in the shot put, in which she registered a mark of 40’0” flat.  The toss was good for tenth place and moved the freshman into a tie for third place in Valpo history in the event.  The rookie also placed seventh in the weight throw with a throw of 49’11 ¼”.

A pair of other freshmen also posted solid finishes Saturday in the field events.  Kelley Freeman (Valparaiso, Ind./Chesterton) posted a sixth-place finish in the pole vault, clearing 10’4”.  Meanwhile, fellow rookie Sam Holderfield (Mahomet, Ill./Mahomet-Seymour) registered a second-place finish in the triple jump with a  season-best leap of 30’9 ¼”.

On the track, a pair of Crusader newcomers posted top-ten finishes as well.  Freshman Nicole Zehel (Wixom, Mich./Lutheran Westland) crossed the line in seventh place in the one mile run, covering the distance in 5:19.71.  Freshman Grace Shemwell (Clinton, Iowa/Clinton) matched Zehel’s finish with a seventh-place showing of her own in the 800m run, crossing the line in 2:25.37.

Valparaiso has been tuning up all season for the 2011 Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships, to be contested next Saturday and Sunday, February 26 and 27 in Geneva, Ohio.  The two-day meet begins on the 27th at 8 a.m. CST.