The Valparaiso University track and field teams competed in the first day of the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships in Carbondale, Ill. on Friday. The day was highlighted by senior Dominic Paoletti (Monroe, Mich./Monroe St. Mary) bettering his own program record in the 10,000-meter run, while Grace Aurand (Highland, Ind./Highland) and Eric Carothers (Fishers, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern) both cracked the top-5 in program history in the 1,500. 

How It Happened

• Paoletti had the highest finish for the Brown & Gold in the 10,000m run, clocking a 30:24.58 and placing seventh. His time outdid his own school record of 30:28.13, set on April 22 at the Drake Relays.
• Jack Worman (Hanover Parks, Ill./Hoffman Estates) followed Paoletti with an 18^th-place finish, crossing the finish in 32:29.10.
• Carothers finished the 1,500 in 3:54.61 to place 13^th in that event’s prelims. His performance earned a place in the program record book as he outdid a time of 3:55.1 by Tom Kilcoyne back in 1979 for a spot in the program’s top five.
• Aurand led the Valpo women by crossing 10^th in the 1500 with a qualifying time of 4:39.60 in the prelim. She edged Amy Mikel’s time from 2003 of 4:39.65 for a spot in the program’s all-time top five.
• Eddie Juszczak (Lowell, Ind./Lowell) enjoyed a top-10 finish, placing ninth in the hammer throw with a distance of 54.09m (177-05). He PR’d in the event on Friday and remains fifth in program history.
• Zack Fortener (Byron, Ill. / Byron) competed in the decathlon and totaled 2,692 points.
• Lauren Mikolajczak (Bloomingdale, Ill./Montini Catholic) led Valpo in the hammer with an 11^th-place finish, covering a distance of 53.05m (174-0). Michelle Pierce (Indianapolis, Ind./Heritage Christian) placed 14^th with a mark of 46.96m (154-01), her new personal best.
• Tyler Howard competed in the 200m dash, clocking a 26.70.
   

Up Next

Valpo will compete in Day 2 of the MVC Championships on Saturday. Links to live results and the ESPN3 broadcast are available on ValpoAthletics.com.