The Valparaiso University track & field program had five all-time top-5 performances including four new entries into the program record book at this weekend's Normal Invite, hosted by Illinois State on Friday and Saturday in Normal, Ill.
 
How It Happened

• The women's 4x100-meter relay team comprised of sophomore Taylor Pusateri (Portage, Ind. / Genoa-Kingston), senior Talia Morgan (Muncie, Ind. / Yorktown), senior Marion Isaac (Evergreen Park, Ill. / Evergreen Park) and sophomore Juliana Ferrara (Fox River Grove, Ill. / Cary-Grove) stopped the clock in 48.60 seconds. They placed fifth in the event to pick up four points for the team while also recording the third-fastest time in program history. Pusateri and Ferrara are now part of two of the three fastest 4x1 relay groups in program history.
• Ferrara also matched her own time that already ranked fourth in program history in the women's 200, placing seventh of 14 with a season-best 25.78 seconds.
• On the men's side in the sprints, junior Tim Whitelaw (Park Ridge, Ill. / Maine South) qualified for the finals in the 100 with a prelim time of 10.95 before bettering that season best with a 10.93 in the finals. His prelim time was fifth of 18 and he finished third in the finals, racking up six points for the Brown & Gold.
• The men's sprints/hurdles group had another athlete advance past the prelims of his event as junior Chaise Magnuson (LaPorte, Ind. / LaPorte) was fifth of 10 in prelims and sixth of eight in the finals in the 110 hurdles. He followed a prelim time of 16.48 with a 16.18 in the finals, earning three points.
• In the 3000 steeplechase, freshman Kensington Black (Franklin, Ohio / Franklin Senior) achieved eight points with a runner-up finish of 11:12.42. That time ranks fourth in program history and was the fastest since Liz Owen set a program record at 10:37.45 in 2017.
• Beacons of both genders scored points in the 1,500 with fifth-year senior Chante Dixon (Benoni, South Africa / Kempton Park [UTSA]) earning a point with an eighth-place finish of 19 at 4:47.67 and sophomore Noah Meacham (Tulsa, Okla. / Broken Arrow) grabbing two points by crossing the finish seventh of 21 at 3:56.40.
• On Friday's first day of the meet, Valpo had solid showings in the hammer. Senior Reid Davis (Nashville, Ind. / Brown County) was one of three Beacon men to score points, leading the way with a sixth-place finish at 47.12m (154-7). On the women's side, junior Amelia Tandy (New Albany, Ind. / New Albany) PR'd at 42.81m (140-5), placing seventh.
• Tandy continued a strong weekend in a pair of events on Saturday, most notably in the shot put, where she covered 12.34m (40-6) with her heave, notching a personal best and moving into fifth in program history. That marked the best outdoor shot put by a Valpo woman since Sara Drozdowski in 2015. Tandy scored five points in that event with a fourth-place finish.
• Tandy added a PR in the discus at 39.29m (128-11), placing sixth of 11 to garner three points.
• Davis followed up his performance in the hammer on Friday by finishing fourth of 12 in the discus on Saturday, good for five points with a throw of 46.36m (152-1).
• Another record book entry came in the high jump, where freshman Katelyn Jaster (Centennial, Colo. / Smoky Hill) cleared 1.5m (5-1), picking up 2.5 points by tying for sixth of 13. Her mark ranks fifth in program history and was Valpo's best since Sydney Bronner in 2019.
• In the men's javelin, senior Ethan Litavecz (Highland, Ind. / Highland) enjoyed a fourth-place finish at 48.51m (159-2), earning five points for the Beacons.
• Valpo finished fifth of seven on the men's side, accruing 43 points to beat Bradley and Western Illinois. The women achieved 34.5 points, placing seventh of nine.

Up Next
The Beacons will participate in the Clark Wood Invitational hosted by Louisville on April 25-26 in Kentucky. A link to live results will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.