Saturday, March 27, 2004

Valparaiso's men's track and field team opened up its 2004 outdoor campaign on Friday and Saturday afternoon at the Purdue Open held in West Lafayette, Ind.

The non-scoring meet allowed the Crusaders to compete in the elements for the first time and allow the freshmen to get a taste of outdoor competition.

Matt Larson (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator H.S.) bettered his own school record in the hammer throw by an inch to finish in tenth place in the event with a toss of 141'6". Todd Goodrick (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester H.S.) finished fourth in the shot put with a toss of 48'11 ½", while Kristopher Schmautz (Missoula, Mont./Hellgate H.S.) earned the same finish in the javelin with a throw of 159'6".

Elsewhere in the field events, Wesley Kosko (Emporia, Kan./Emporia H.S.) placed fifth in the long jump with a leap of 21'0 ¾", while Josh Stamper (DeMotte, Ind./Kankakee Valley H.S.) cleared 12'11 ½" in the pole vault to finish fifth.

On the oval, Adam Wierciak (Ottawa, Ill./Marquette H.S.) finished fifth in the 400m run with a time of 51.30 seconds, while also placing second in the 400m hurdles crossing the finish line in a time of 55.55 seconds. Chris Orosz (Holland, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit H.S.) also earned a runner-up finish, doing so in the 5000m run with a time of 15:53.01.

The Crusaders will return to the track next Saturday as they compete in Greencastle, Ind. in a quadrangular meet with DePauw, Butler, and Indiana Wesleyan.