The Valparaiso University men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at the Grand Valley State University Lints Alumni Meet on Saturday. Junior pole vaulter Alexander Watson (Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley) and junior thrower Andrew Guzek (Valparaiso, Ind. / Valparaiso) earned top-six finishes in their respective events for the Crusaders.

How It Happened

• Watson cleared the bar at 15’1 1/2" to finish fifth and captured Valpo’s best placing of the day. That performance beats his previous career-best of 15’1”, which is second in school history. Guzek tossed the weight throw 55’2” to receive sixth place and added a ninth-place mark in the shot put (48’6”).
• In the triple jump, freshman Nick Ricks (St. Louis, Mo. / Lutheran North) and junior Montel Hall (Waukegan, Ill. / Waukegan) finished eighth and ninth, respectively. Ricks left with a mark of 43’5” and Hall finished with a jump of 42’7”.
• Freshman runner Ben Sekuloski (Lowell, Ind./Lowell) ran the 400m race in 49.87, which lands him fifth all-time in Valpo history, eclipsing the old mark of 50.54, which was accomplished by Joe Holy in 2012.
• For the women, freshman Anne Mou (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park) had the best performance for the Crusaders, finishing in ninth in the triple jump (34’4 1/4"). This result puts her in the record books, taking fifth-place, erasing the previous distance of 34’0 3/4".
• Sophomore thrower Nellie Bonham (Palos Hills, Ill./Stagg) had a distance of 38’7” in the shot put, helping her receive 12^th place, the team’s second-best result at the meet.

Next Up

The Crusaders travel to Notre Dame on Friday, Feb. 3 to partake in the two-day Meyo Invitational. The first event will begin at 9 a.m. CT.