Senior Brian Sponaugle (Milton, De. / Cape Henlopen) completed his journey from distance runner to multis athlete to javelin thrower in championship fashion on Saturday at the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. Sponaugle authored the latest chapter in his breakout senior season – this time on the biggest stage yet – by completing his unlikely path to a Missouri Valley Conference crown.
 
How It Happened

• Sponaugle's winning throw of 63.40 meters (208-0) earned 10 points for the Beacons in the team standings, outdoing runner-up Sam Parker (Belmont), who checked in at 61.12m (200-6).
• Sponaugle made Valpo history, becoming the first member of the program to earn an MVC Outdoor Championship. He captured Valpo's second track & field conference crown since joining the MVC and first since 2020, when Alexander Bruno was the MVC Indoor champion in the mile.
• Senior Chante Dixon (Benoni, South Africa / Kempton Park [UTSA]) crossed the finish third of 16 in the women's 1500-meter prelims, posting a qualifying time of 4:31.24 to advance to Sunday's final.
• The Beacons nabbed the final two qualifying spots in the men's 1500 as freshmen Braden Hoff (New Lenox, Ill. / Lincoln-Way Central) and Joey Yaros (Bloomington, Ill. / Normal Community) finished the prelim race seventh and eighth, respectively. Both men posted personal bests with Hoff at 3:49.61 and Yaros right on his tail at 3:49.67. Hoff's time was four hundredths away from the program record set by Simeon Ehm in 2024. The freshman duo of Hoff and Yaros now rank second and third in program history in that event, as they outdid Nate Nunnelly's 2001 time of 3:49.68 that previously ranked second.
• Sophomore Kensington Black (Franklin, Ohio / Franklin Senior) scored three points for the Beacons in the 3000m steeplechase, finishing sixth with a personal-best time of 10:53.32. She improved her 3000m steeplechase time that already ranked third in program history.

Up Next
The MVC Outdoor Championships will conclude on Sunday in Terre Haute. The first events of the day begin at 8:30 a.m. CT and live coverage on ESPN+ will start at 12:20 p.m. CT.