The Valparaiso University track & field team opened up the outdoor portion of the season this week with three days of competition and 15 student-athletes participating in the Raleigh Relays, hosted by NC State in Raleigh, N.C. Two Beacons notched program all-time top-5 times in the outdoor 5,000-meter run this week.

How It Happened

• In the men’s distance, Evan Walda (Fort Wayne, Ind. / South Side) stopped the clock in 14.17.16 in the 5,000 on Thursday. Teammate Simeon Ehm (Castle Rock, Colo. / Heritage) turned in a time of 14:24.53. Both established outdoor PRs and had among the best times in program history, ranking second and third respectively on Valpo’s all-time outdoor 5,000 list behind only Aaron Crague (14:16.10, 2003).
• Three Beacons participated in the men’s javelin on Thursday with Ethan Litavecz (Highland, Ind. / Highland) leading the way at 50.12 meters (164-5). Brian Sponaugle followed at 48.73m (159-10) and Tommy Palmer (Saco, Maine / Phillips Exeter Academy) turned in a toss of 42.52m (139-6). Litavecz and Sponaugle both achieved personal bests.
• In the women’s throws, Tori Gerhardt (Westville, Ind. / Chesterton) represented the Beacons in the hammer with a toss of 41.72m (136-10). In the men’s throws, Nate Smith (Lake Station, Ind. / Lake Station) recorded a shot put of 14.11m (46-3.5).
• In the women’s distance, Grace Aurand (Highland, Ind. / Highland) posted a 5,000 time of 18:03.04.
• In the men’s sprints, Tim Whitelaw (Park Ridge, Ill. / Maine South) paced the team in the 100-meter dash at 10.98 seconds, ahead of teammate Nathan Wessel’s (Hartland, Wis. / Lake County Lutheran) time of 11.13. In the 200, Anthony Vassolo led the team at 22.64, followed by Wessel at 22.77. Vassolo also posted a 400 time of 51.47 this weekend.
• On the women’s side, Juliana Ferrara (Fox River Grove, Ill. / Cary-Grove) finished the 100 in a personal-best 12.78 and the 200 in 26.76.
• In the men’s mid-distance, Noah Meacham (Tulsa, Okla. / Broken Arrow) posted a time of 1:55.58 in the 800, while Alejandro Chaves (Bayamon, P.R. / American Military Academy) finished in 1:58.85 in the event.
• In the long jump, Micah Mullings (Minesing, Ontario, Canada / Barrie North) cleared 6.61m (21-8.25).

Up Next

The Beacons will compete in the Bill Cornell Spring Classic on April 5-6 in Carbondale, Ill.

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