Friday, January 16, 2009

Philip Lohrmann (Battle Ground, Wash./Battle Ground [Clark C.C.]) tied his own school record in the pole vault, while Tom Heun (Brecksville, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) registered a fifth-place finish in the 60m hurdles as the Valparaiso men’s track and field team competed Friday evening at the Mike Lints Alumni Open, hosted by Grand Valley State.

Lohrmann registered a height of 14’1 ¼” in the pole vault Friday to tie for a tenth-place finish, matching his own school record from the 2007 indoor campaign.  The fifth-year senior is also Valpo’s record holder outdoors in the event.

Heun qualified for the event finals in the 60m hurdles with a preliminary time of 8.76 seconds, the sixth-fastest qualifying time.  The senior proceeded to slash nearly two-tenths of a second from his time in the finals, coming home in 8.58 seconds for his fifth-place finish.

Other top performances for the Crusader men Friday came in the distance events.  Leandro Schultz (Valley View, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) placed 11th in the 3,000m run with a time of 9:09.98 and also came home 15th in the mile run, crossing the line in 4:34.95.  Jim Turchyn (Batesville, Ind./Batesville) joined Schultz in the top-15 in the 3,000m run, finishing 14th with a time of 9:22.80, while freshman Mack Morris (Eden Prairie, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) earned an 11th-place showing in the 5,000m run, completing the race in 17:31.40.

The Valparaiso men return to the track next weekend on Saturday, January 24 at the Simmons-Harvey Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich.  The meet is slated for a 9 a.m. start.