Friday, February 14, 2003

Valparaiso's Matt Larson (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator H.S.) set a new school record in the weight throw as the Crusaders competed at the Lewis Series Meet on Friday evening in Romeoville, Ill.

Larson's heave of 46'11" bettered his previous record by nearly three inches as he placed third in the event. Teammate Geoff Burns (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster H.S.) finished right behind Larson in fourth place with a toss of 45'0 ½".

Elsewhere on the infield, Joshua Lee (Yellow Jacket, Colo./Montezuma-Cortez H.S.) placed sixth in the long jump with a leap of 21'1", while Reed Williams (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparral H.S.) took seventh in the pole vault, clearing 13'9". Brandon Sessler (Ellinwood, Kan./Ellinwood H.S.), competing in his first meet of the year, placed fifth in the high jump, clearing the bar at 5'10".

On the oval, Scott Hill (Goshen, Ind./Northwood H.S.) earned a pair of top-ten finishes in the sprints. The freshman placed tenth in the 55m dash (6.73 seconds), and ninth in the 200m (23.79 seconds). Valpo also placed fifth and sixth in the 400m dash as Jeff Moscinski (Rockford, Ill./Christian Life H.S.) crossed the line in 52.79 seconds with Adam Wierciak (Ottawa, Ill./Marquette H.S.) just .05 seconds behind.

In the distance events, Matt Blume (Logansport, Ind./Pioneer H.S.) and Doug Brown (Bluffton, Ohio/Allen East H.S.) turned in third and fourth place performances respectively in the 3,000m run. Blume broke the tape in 8:54.59, while Brown finishing in 8:55.45. Adam Piaskowy (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee H.S.) and Rick Wenger (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere H.S.) finished sixth (9:03.32) and eighth (9:22.10) respectively to give the Brown and Gold four runners in the top-eight.

Nathanel Noon (Birmingham, Ala./John Carroll H.S.) qualified for the finals in the 55m hurdles, and placed sixth with a time of 8.16 seconds.

The Crusaders registered a victory in the 4x200m relay, as Hill, Joe Dwyer (Lansing, Ill./TF South H.S.), Lee, and Moscinski broke the tape in 1:33.91, more than a second in front of Illinois Wesleyan.

Valpo will return to the track on Saturday afternoon as several individuals compete in the Canon Invitational held in Indianapolis, Ind.