Senior
Brian Sponaugle (Milton, De. / Cape Henlopen) continued his breakout season in the javelin, winning the event to lead the Valparaiso University track & field team at this weekend's Gary Wieneke Memorial hosted by the University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill. In addition, two Valpo women cracked the program's all-time top-5 in the 1,500.
How It Happened
- Sponaugle highlighted Friday's action from a Valpo standpoint, tossing the javelin 63.59 meters (208-7) to win the event. His mark ranks 93rd nationally this season as he set a new personal best, improving his own mark that already ranked second in program history. He is behind only Jeremy Getz (212-9 in 2015) in Valpo lore.
- Late in the meet on Saturday, the one-two punch of seniors Chante Dixon (Benoni, South Africa / Kempton Park [UTSA]) and Alina Worzella (Martinsville, Ind. / Martinsville) turned in personal bests in the 1500. Dixon placed fifth in a 23-runner field, followed immediately by Worzella, who finished sixth. Dixon's time of 4:30.84 ranks second in program history behind only Collette Liss' 1999 record of 4:22.78. Worzella's PR of 4:34.86 ranks fourth in the Valpo record book.
- On Friday, senior Rhena Kiger (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point) established a PR in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing six-hundredths of a second outside of the program's all-time top 5. She placed 12th in the event with a time of 1:06.61.
- PRs rolled in for the Beacons in the mid-distance, including Marek Potuznik (Hoffman Estates, Ill. / Fremd) at 1:59.69 and Vanessa Parsons (Valparaiso, Ind. / Morgan Township) at 2:24.12 in the 800. In the men's 1500, Joey Yaros (Bloomington, Ill. / Normal Community) finished in the top half of a 15-runner field, placing seventh in 3:56.14. Braden Hoff (New Lenox, Ill. / Lincoln-Way Central) was right behind him with a time of 3:56.89.
Up Next
The Beacons will compete in the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships, hosted by Indiana State, beginning on Saturday, May 16 in Terre Haute, Ind.
