Junior Jarrett Mickens (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) posted a pair of Valparaiso’s best performances ever in the jumps as the Crusader men’s track and field squad finished in 11th place Saturday at the Chicagoland Championships in Chicago, Ill.

The Crusaders tallied 17 points on the meet for their 11th-place finish.  North Central bested 16 other competitors to take home the team title with 187.5 points.

Mickens earned a runner-up finish in the long jump Saturday, leaping a career-best 22’1”, the fourth-best distance in Crusader history.  He also registered a career-long leap of 46’4 ¼” in the triple jump to finish fourth and move into second place on Valpo’s all-time chart in the event.  Fellow jumper Steve Schubert (Lisle, Ill./Benet Academy) recorded the fourth-best jump all-time at Valpo in the triple jump as well, finishing sixth with a leap of 44’11 ¾”.

Elsewhere on the infield, freshman Andrew Rixon (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) posted a 12th-place showing in the shot put, tossing the implement 41’10”.  On the track, Nick Fagan (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) led the way with a Valpo season-best time of 9:07.84 in the 3,000m run, good for eighth place, while Derek Schnake (Chicago, Ill./Lincoln Park) finished 12th in the 800m run and Jordan Piaskowy (Crete, Ill./Illiana Christian) placed 13th in the 5,000m run.

Valparaiso returns to indoor action next Saturday as the Crusaders compete at the Boilermaker Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind.  The meet is slated for a 10 a.m. CST start.