Senior Bill Rixon (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) unleashed Valpo’s second-best toss in program history in the hammer throw as the Valparaiso men’s track and field squad completed its final tuneup for the Horizon League Championships this weekend at the Purdue Open in West Lafayette, Ind.

Rixon recorded a trio of massive efforts in his first three attempts at the hammer, the one event contested on Friday afternoon, culminating in a mark of 173’7”, good for a second-place finish and the top finish among attached collegiate athletes.  The mark also was a new PR in the event for the senior by nearly five feet.  Rixon also finished in fourth place in the discus throw with an effort of 145’2”, while his brother, junior Andrew Rixon (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield), set a new PR in the hammer with a toss of 156’6” to finish in third position.

Elsewhere on the infield, freshman Cy Badertscher (Janesville, Wis./Joseph A. Craig) paced the Crusaders in both jumps, winning the triple jump with a leap of 43’9 ¾” and placing second in the long jump with a mark of 20’8”.  In the other throwing events, sophomore David Goad (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) led Valpo in the shot put with a fourth-place finish (45’0 ½”), while freshman Jeremy Getz ended the day third in the javelin throw (156’1”).

Out on the track, sophomores Julian Smith (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice) and Logan Coan (Chicago, Ill./Rich East) ran 1-2 in the 100m dash with times of 11.01 and 11.21 seconds, respectively, while freshman Nick Kowaleski (Lockbourne, Ohio/Grove City) won the 200m dash (22.35 seconds) and rookie Ricky Laskowski (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) came home second in the 400m hurdles (59.99 seconds).  Freshman Kevin Adamik (Elmhurst, Ill./York Community) posted a third-place finish in the 400m dash with a time of 50.46 seconds.

Valparaiso will compete at the three-day Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Championships next weekend in Milwaukee, Wis.  The meet starts Friday, May 4 at 9 a.m.