The distance medley relays in both genders cracked the all-time top 5 in the program record book as the Valparaiso University men's and women's track & field programs competed in the first day of the two-day Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships, hosted by the league at the Indiana Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, on Sunday. In addition, junior
AJ Walsh (Lombard, Ill. / IC Catholic Prep) is competing for a spot on the podium in the heptathlon.
How It Happened
- The final event of Day 1 saw the Beacons tally two points thanks to a seventh-place finish in the men's distance medley relay. Freshman Joey Yaros (Bloomington, Ill. / Normal) ran the 1,200-meter leg, followed by sophomore Ferdinand Rosa (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico / American Military Academy) on the 400 leg, junior Noah Meacham (Tulsa, Okla. / Broken Arrow) on the 800 and freshman Braden Hoff (New Lenox, Ill. / Lincoln Way Central) on the final 1,600. That group finished in 10:04.83, beating Bradley, Southern Illinois and Evansville. That time was the second-fastest in program history, behind only Mader/Sekuloski/Zibricky/Bruno in 2018 at 9:57.64.
- Just before the men's DMR took the track, the women ran that relay in their final event of the night. The Beacons sent out senior Alina Worzella (Martinsville, Ind. / Martinsville), senior Rhena Kiger (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point), freshman Vanessa Parsons (Valparaiso, Ind. / Morgan Township) and junior Laetitia Raoult (Guingamp, France [Florida International]). That quartet beat out UIC to finish ninth in a time of 12:20.99, which ranks fourth in the program record book. This was Valpo's fastest women's DMR since the 2014 group of Johnson/Wosick/Zehel/Bloy set the program record at 12:01.70.
- In addition to running the first and last legs of the relay, Yaros and Hoff turned in solid times in the mile. Yaros qualified for Monday's final by placing fifth of 22 in 4:11.77, while Hoff's time of 4:15.80 was eighth of 22 and set a PR. The finals will begin at 10:40 a.m. CT on Monday.
- While Yaros and Hoff had a good day on the men's side, the women's freshman distance group was also well represented with Samantha Rowley (Barrington, Ill. / Barrington) finishing 12th of 23 in the women's 5000, bettering her PR that already ranked third in program history and once again notching the best time by a Beacon in that event since 2009 (Laura Rolf).
- The first four events of the men's heptathlon took place on Sunday with three more to come on Monday. Through four events, Walsh is fourth of 11 at 2940. UNI's Carter Morton (3233), Illinois State's Ryan Schaefer (3010) and UNI's Tye Hardin (3009) comprise the top three. Walsh finished second in the heptathlon shot put at 12.79m and had top-5 finishes in three of the four events. The pole vault, 60 hurdles, and 1000 are still to come on the heptathlon docket.
- In the women's 800, junior Amelia Tisdale (Franklin, Ind. / Franklin Community) crossed in 2:29.27, missing an indoor PR by one hundredth.
- In the throws, junior Gabe Quinn (LaPorte, Ind. / LaPorte) PR'd the shot put at 14.66 (48-1.25).
Up Next
The earliest event will begin at 8:30 a.m. CT on Monday. Live coverage on ESPN+ begins at 10:15 a.m. CT. Links to live video and results are available on ValpoAthletics.com.
