Six members of the Valparaiso University men's and women's track & field programs cracked the program all-time top 5 in an event as part of a successful showing at the Meyo Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. this weekend. Sophomore
Ferdinand Rosa (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico / American Military Academy]) led the way with a record-setting race in the 600.
How It Happened
- As part of Friday's men's track events, Rosa raced to a sixth-place finish in a 26-runner field by completing the 600 in 1:20.05. He outdid the previous program record in that event, which was set by Noah Meacham in 2025 (1:21.20).
- In that same race, junior Alejandro Chaves (Bayamon, P.R. / American Military Academy) cracked the program's all-time top five as well. His 1:23.52 ranks fourth in the program record book.
- On the women's side, the 600 also featured an all-time top-5 time thanks to Alina Worzella (Martinsville, Ind. / Martinsville). The senior's time of 1:40.13 led four Beacons in the field and represented the third-fastest time ever by a Valpo runner. This was the fastest time by a runner donning the brown and gold since Sierra Fischer's 2020 program record of 1:38.29.
- In the women's distance, Samantha Rowley put together a time of 17:23.62 to place 28th of 47. She notched the third-best time in program history and best since 2009, when Laura Rolf ran a program-record 16:53.16.
- In addition to the four record-book entries on the track, the Beacons had one in a field event on Friday. Junior AJ Walsh (Lombard, Ill. / IC Catholic Prep) placed sixth of 11 in the men's long jump thanks to a mark of 6.98 meters (22-10.75). His PR puts him third in program history, behind only Micah Mullings (2024) and Jarrett Mickens (2011), two of the program's all-time best jumpers.
- The sixth record-book entry of the weekend occurred on the second and final day of the event as sophomore Katelyn Jaster (Centennial, Colo. / Smoky Hill) cleared 1.57m (5-1.75) in the women's high jump on Saturday. She placed in the top 10 in the event and now ranks third in program history. That was the best indoor high jump by a Valpo woman since Jazmin Taylor's 5-6.5 in 2014-15.
Up Next
The Beacons will compete in the Windy City Invite hosted by Wisconsin at Gately Complex on Chicago's south side next weekend, Feb. 6-7.
