Saturday, April 12, 2003

Nate Nunnelly (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) won the 1500m run on Saturday afternoon at the Miami Invitational to help Valparaiso to a fifth place finish as a team in Oxford, Ohio.

Nunnelly, who crossed the finish line in a time of 3:50.53 was just .53 seconds shy of qualifying for the NCAA Regional Championships and was less than a second shy of the school record. Nunnelly won by just .28 seconds, while teammate Aaron Crague (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central H.S.) finished in sixth place with a time of 3:55.13.

As a team, the Crusaders tallied 55 points in the meet, finishing behind Ball State, Miami (Ohio), Louisville, and Marshall. Purdue finished sixth, behind Valpo, followed by Butler, Cedarville, and IUPUI.

Matt Blume (Logansport, Ind./Pioneer H.S.) also earned a top-five finish for the Brown and Gold in the distance events with his fifth place effort in the 3000m steeple chase, crossing the finish line in 9:36.47.

In the 110m hurdles, three Crusaders finished in the top-five. Nathanael Noon (Birmingham, Ala./John Carroll H.S.) finished second with a time of 15.49 seconds, while Sean Barfield (University Place, Wash./Curtis H.S.) was third just .02 seconds behind Noon. Brian Schultz (Sheboygan, Wis./South H.S.) finished fifth with a time of 15.68 seconds.

Adam Wierciak (Ottawa, Ill./Marquette H.S.) placed fourth for Valpo in the 400m hurdles with a time of 56.30 seconds.

On the infield, the Crusaders had a pair of individuals score in the triple jump. Schultz turned in a third place effort with a leap of 42'11 ¾", while Wierciak placed sixth with a jump of 40'3 ¼".

The Crusaders will return to the oval next weekend as they travel to the Pacesetter Invitational in Indianapolis.