Saturday, February 21, 2004

Valparaiso University's men's track and field team turned in a third place showing out of 15 teams on Saturday afternoon at the Chicagoland Championships held in Romeoville, Ill.

The Crusaders tallied 68.25 points, trailing just Lewis (171.25) and North Central (128.75) in the standings.

Valpo picked up most of its points in the field events and the hurdles, scoring in just two other running events. Joe Dwyer (Lansing, Ill./TF South H.S.) raced to a seventh place finish in the 55m dash with a time of 6.79 seconds, while Jeff Moscinski (Rockford, Ill./Christian Life H.S.) placed fourth in the 400m dash, crossing the finish line in 52.22 seconds.

The Crusaders excelled in the hurdles though, as Adam Wierciak (Ottawa, Ill./Marquette H.S.) won the 200m event with a time of 26.04 seconds. Bryan Bandy (Barrington, Ill./Barrington H.S.) finished fourth in the same event with a mark of 26.80 seconds, while Dwyer was sixth (27.29). Sean Barfield (University Place, Wash./Curtis H.S.) placed eighth in both the 200m (27.61) and the 55m (8.04).

On the infield, Jon Braun (Saratoga, Wyo./Saratoga H.S.) jumped his way to a tie for fifth place in the high jump, clearing 6'0". Todd Goodrick (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester H.S.) also finished fifth on the afternoon, doing so in the shot put with a toss of 48'11 ½".

Valpo also had four individuals score in the weight throw, led by Bryan Bell (Bellevue, Neb./Bellevue East H.S.) and Matt Larson (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator H.S.). Bell finished second with a heave of 51'1 ½", while Larson was third with a toss of 48'9 ½". Jeff Swihart (Goshen, Ind./Northwood H.S.) finished sixth in the event with a toss of 45'2 ¼", while Eric Smith (Portage, Ind./Portage H.S.) placed eighth (43'3 ¼").

The Crusaders are will return to action next weekend at the Mid-Continent Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Sterling, Ill. Friday's events will begin at 2 p.m.