Six Valparaiso University track & field athletes represented the Beacons at the competitive Meyo Invitational on Friday night at Notre Dame as three men and three women were in action to begin a busy weekend for the team.

How It Happened

• A week after delivering a personal best that helped him advance to second in program history in the event, Tristan Malatlian (Pfafftown, N.C. / Regan) returned to action in the men’s pole vault. His vault of 4.60m (15-1) helped him secure an eighth-place finish. Malatlian led a group of five participants from Missouri Valley Conference institutions in that event.
• The Valpo women were led by Mackenzie Patten (Highland, Mich. / Milford), who unleashed a throw of 14.81m (48-7.25) to place 21^st in the competitive meet. Michelle Pierce (Indianapolis, Ind. / Heritage Christian) delivered a mark of 14.36m (47-1.5), while Tori Gerhardt (Westville, Ind. / Chesterton) contributed a throw of 13.69m (44-11).
• In the men’s weight throw, Eddie Juszczak (Lowell, Ind. / Lowell) heaved 17.06m (55-11.75), while teammate Alek Trafton (Lockport, Ill. / Lockport) turned in a 16.17m (53-0.75).

Thoughts from Head Coach Ryan Moore

“Notre Dame was a solid meet. Tristan ended up beating all of the guys from within our conference in the pole vault. While he didn’t set a new PR tonight, he saw good results against conference competitors.”

“It was a good environment overall at the Meyo Invitational, as it is every year. There’s some lore and prestige that comes with competing at Notre Dame. Power-five programs travel far for this meet, including schools that we don’t frequently compete against. I have said for years that I feel like it’s important that our athletes get opportunities to compete against quality competition and get acclimated to that feeling. That makes a big difference when we get to our conference championships. If you get there and you’ve been there a number of times, it’s going to feel familiar, you’re not going to clam up and get nervous in those moments. It was very beneficial for our kids to be present tonight and get that experience competing at a high level.”

“This weekend has traditionally been a good weekend for us. Juszczak had a decent series. Patten had a decent series. Tori had PR’d the last couple weeks, and it can’t happen every time, but we get another opportunity tomorrow with that same group. They used this as a competitive opportunity to prepare for tomorrow’s meet. We’re hoping for some magic up in Chicago as a result. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish tomorrow.”   

Up Next

The Meyo Invitational will continue on Saturday at Notre Dame. In addition, Valpo student-athletes will be represented at the Windy City Rumble in Chicago on Saturday.