On Saturday, the Crusader men traveled to Chicago, Ill. to compete in the DePaul Relays. Valparaiso finished second overall with 191 total points. Antwon Hatchett (Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central) and Jacob Frey (St. Paul, Minn./Roseville Area) led the Crusaders with first-place finishes in their respective events.

Hatchett took a first-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles, breaking the tape in 57.50. Mark Pinnow (Columbus, Ind./Trinity Lutheran) took second in the same event, clocking in at 59.95.

Frey finished first in the hammer throw, throwing for a season-best mark of 177’8”. That mark doubled as the second-best distance in program history. Frey also finished fifth in the discus throw (131’8”).

Anthony Franze (Gunter, Texas/Gunter) took second in the 100-meter dash, leading the Crusaders with a time of 11.37. Franze also finished second in the 200-meter dash, clocking in with a time of 22.97. Andrew Butts (Clayton, Ohio/Northmont), Joe Holy (Bolingbrook, Ill./Joliet Catholic), and Josh Carow (Greenwood, Ind./Indianapolis Lutheran) rounded out the top-five in the same event.

In the 1,500-meter run, Adam Bruno (Bloomington, Ill./Normal) and Max Morello (Plano, Ill./Plano) finished third and fourth, respectively. Bruno clocked in at 4:14.04, while Morello followed with a 4:19.43 finish.

Valparaiso’s 4x400-meter relay team took second with a time of 3:24.73. The relay team featured Hatchett, Holy, Chad Brooks (Hobart, Ind./Hobart), and Butts.

Elijah Owen (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte) took a second-place finish in the long jump, clearing 20’0 ½” – a season-best. Owen also placed third in the high jump (5’10 ¾”).

Jeremy Getz (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Jacob Smutz (West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison) finished second and third in the javelin throw. Getz threw for 180’3”, while Smutz cleared 144’6”. Smutz also finished fourth in the discus throw with a season-best mark of 139’6”.

On Thursday, Valparaiso’s vaulters competed in the Cougar Invitational at Concordia University. Justin Zosso (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) led the Crusaders with a first-place finish in the pole vault, clearing 13’9 ¼”.

The Crusader men return to the track next weekend for the Miami (Ohio) Invitational in Oxford, Ohio. The two day event starts on Friday, April 25^th and concludes on Saturday, April 26^th. The invitational will serve as the final tune-up before the Horizon League Outdoor Championships.