Three athletes cracked the program's all-time top 5 in their events, while two Beacons came away with event wins this weekend as the Valparaiso University men's and women's track & field teams competed in the Tennessee Invite, hosted by the Volunteers on Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
 
How It Happened

• Senior Brian Sponaugle (Milton, De. / Cape Henlopen) continued his successful run in the javelin on Friday, winning the 15-athlete event by throwing 61.49 meters (201-9).
• Valpo's other event victory for the weekend came late in the program on Saturday, as sophomore Kensington Black topped the field with a personal-record time of 10 minutes, 56.20 seconds in the 3,000m steeplechase. That time ranks third in program history in that event, behind only Liz Owen (2017) and Ashley Billstrom (2007).
• The Beacons had a strong performance on the men's side of that event as well, with sophomore Tyler Swartz (Warsaw, Ind. / Warsaw Community) finishing as the runner-up in a personal-best time of 9:45.63.
• In the mid-distance events, graduate senior Chante Dixon (Benoni, South Africa [Kempton Park]) continued to lead the way for the Beacons. She PR'd in both the 1500 (4:35.84) and 800 (2:15.52) this weekend, with her 1500 time placing sixth of 51 in the race and ranking fourth in program history.
• Senior Alina Worzella (Martinsville, Ind. / Martinsville) was just behind Dixon in both of her events, recording PRs of her own at 4:42.21 in the 1500 (11^th of 51) and 2:16.72 in the 800 (18^th/49).
• The Valpo men had good showings in those events as well, with Alex Valerio (Rockford, Ill. / Boylan Catholic) leading the way in the 1500 with a PR of 4:03.62 and Ferdinand Rosa (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico / American Military Academy) doing so in the 800 at 1:53.66. Rosa's time ranked second in program history, behind only Ignacio Veloz Bonilla's 1:50.52 in 2023. Rosa was 16^th of 56 in the race.
• In the longer distance races, Valpo had PRs from both genders as well, with Eva Heimsoth (Ottawa, Ill. / Ottawa Township) finishing the 5000 in 18:30.73 and Braden Hoff (New Lenox, Ill. / Lincoln-Way Central) doing so in 15:00.75, earning a top-10 finish at ninth of 31 on Friday.
• In the jumps, Silas Mathis (Gary, Ind. / Merrillville) had a high-jump PR of 1.92m (6-3.5). Oliver Koch (Angola, Ind. / Angola) enjoyed a top-5 finish with a PR of 4.46m (14-.75) in the pole vault. In the sprints, Sarah Gutowski (Vernon Hills, Ill. / Vernon Hills) set her PR at 13.28 seconds in the 100.

Up Next
The Valpo multi-event athletes will head to Terre Haute for the Gibson Invitational, which begins on Thursday, April 16.