Saturday, April 01, 2006

Steve Bartholomew (Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Township H.S.) set two new meet records, including a new school mark in the discus throw, as the Crusader throwing contingent led Valpo to a third-place finish at the DePauw Quad Saturday in Greencastle, Ind.

The Brown and Gold tallied 95 points for the meet. Indiana Wesleyan took home top team honors with 246 points. The host Tigers finished second, registering 190 points, while Butler rounded out the field with 77 points.

Bartholomew captured the top spot in the discus throw with his toss of 163'7", setting the new meet record by almost eight feet and lengthening the all-time Valpo mark by over nine feet. He also took top honors in the hammer throw, beating the field by over 20 feet with his throw of 164'2". The effort moves Bartholomew into second on Valpo's all-time chart in the event.

Jeff Swihart (Wakarusa, Ind./Northwood H.S.) and Eric Smith (Portage, Ind./Portage H.S.) also placed in multiple events for the Brown and Gold. Swihart won the shot put with an effort of 42'11 ¾", while his throw of 144'1" in the hammer was good for second behind Bartholomew. Smith took runner-up honors in the discus throw (148'7") and placed third in the shot put (42'4").

David Wheeler (Saint Charles, Ill./Saint Charles East H.S.) led Valpo on the track, crossing the line third in the 5,000m run. Wheeler led seven Crusader runners in the event with his time of 16:00.86. Wesley Kosko (Emporia, Kan./Emporia H.S.) recorded two top-five finishes, coming in fifth in the 100m dash (11.82) and fourth in the 200m dash (24.18).

Valparaiso returns to the track Friday, April 7 at the Miami (Ohio) Invitational. The first event of the two-day meet is slated to begin at 2:30 p.m.