The Valparaiso University track and field team kicked off its indoor season with a trip to Notre Dame for the Blue & Gold Invitational at the Loftus Sports Center on Friday. Senior Andrew Guzek (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) and sophomore Ben Sekuloski (Lowell, Ind./Lowell) led the way for the men, each capturing a runner-up finish. Sophomore Anne Mou (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park) took home a third-place finish as the top finisher for the Crusader women.

How It Happened

• Mou went 35 feet, 5 inches in the triple jump, finishing in third, while sophomore classmate Shannon Lahey (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) finished fourth in the triple jump (32-4.25).
• Newcomer Carli Sowonik (Hebron, Ind./Hebron) finished ninth in the pole vault in her first Crusader outing at 10-0.
• Junior Nellie Bonham (Palos Hills, Ill./Stagg) posted an eighth-place finish in the shot put, throwing it 40-7.
• Freshman Lauren Mikolajczak (Bloomingdale, Ill./Montini Catholic) came in ninth in the weight throw, going 41-6.5. Bonham made her way into the Top 10 with a toss of 41-6 that was good for the 10^th spot in the same event.
• Senior James Sampson (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) sprinted to an eighth-place finish in the 60-meter dash, going 7.14.
• Sampson then captured sixth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.90.
• Sekuloski posted a time of 49.50 in the 400-meter dash that was good for second overall.
• Freshman Will Maidment (Woodstock, Ill./Woodstock) wound up fifth in the high jump at 6-0.75 in his first competition for Valpo.
• Junior Zach Topper (Portage, Ind./Portage) finished third in the pole vault, senior Alexander Watson (Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley) was fourth and sophomore Jeremy Seiler (Angola, Ind./Fremont) placed fifth, all topping out at 14-11. Junior Evan Snow (Jackson Township, Ohio/Jackson) got to 14-5.25 in the pole vault, which was good for seventh, while junior Kyle Baker (Essex, Vt./Essex) wound up eighth at 14-5.25.
• Aaron Clark, Jr. finished in 10^th in the long jump with a leap of 21-5.25.
• Senior Montell Hall (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) placed third overall in the triple jump at 45-4.5. Junior Collin McCullough (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) posted a sixth-place finish in the same event with a jump of 41-2.25. Clark found himself just behind in seventh in the triple jump, coming in at 40-5. Cole Stradtmann rounded out the quartet in eighth, jumping 39-1.
• Guzek captured a sixth-place finish in the shot put at 47-1.5, while sophomore Jake Rasawehr (Celina, Ohio/Celina) went 46-10.25, a mark that was good for seventh.
• Guzek’s second-place finish came in the weight throw, where his toss was 59-2.5.

Next Up

The Crusaders will take a break from competition until after the holidays when they reconvene for a trip to Allendale, Mich. for the Bob Eubanks Open, which will be hosted by Grand Valley State on Jan. 12.