Saturday, April 03, 2010

Crusader athletes went 1-2-3 in the triple Saturday at the DePauw Invitational in Greencastle, Ind., three of 13 top-ten finishes on the day for the Valparaiso men’s track and field squad as it finished in seventh place.

The Crusaders tallied 57 points as a team on Saturday for their seventh-place showing.  Wabash took the team title by a mere point over Indiana Wesleyan, 111.5-110.5.

Jarrett Mickens (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley), who has dominated the triple jump all season both indoors and outdoors, continued his tremendous junior campaign with the event victory on Saturday, leaping 43’11 ¾”.  Steve Schubert (Lisle, Ill./Benet Academy) was runner-up in the same event behind Mickens, jumping 43’8”, while Chris Hovan (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Christian) completed the podium sweep for Valpo with a leap of 39’5 ¼”.

Mickens also picked up a fourth-place finish on Saturday in the long jump, recording a jump of 20’9 ¾”.  Elsewhere in the jumps, Charlie Walesa (Chicago, Ill./Luther North) cleared 5’10” in the high jump to finish seventh, while on the track, David Carter (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) tallied the Crusaders’ lone top-ten finish with an eighth-place showing in the 1,500m run, crossing the line in 4:12.12.

The Crusaders also tallied a good number of points in the throws Saturday.  Nick Babbitt (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet) was the runner-up in the hammer throw with a toss of 150’8”, while Bill Rixon (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) finished in fourth place in the same event, registering a throw of 140’5”.  Rixon also tallied a runner-up finish in the discus throw, reaching 139’0”.

Younger brother Andrew Rixon (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) picked up a trio of top-tens on the day, placing eighth in the shot put (41’11 ¼”), ninth in the discus throw (126’9”) and tenth in the hammer throw (126’0”).  Joe Spitzzeri (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) added to the Crusader team score with a sixth-place showing in the javelin throw, registering a toss of 143’4”.

Valparaiso returns to action next Saturday, April 10 at the Miami Invitational in Oxford, Ohio.