Saturday, January 28, 2012

Sophomore Sarah Drozdowski (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park) registered two of Valparaiso's four first-place finishes on Saturday as the Crusader women's track and field team took on IPFW, Detroit and Oakland at the IPFW Quadrangular in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Drozdowski came up just one inch short of her PR in the shot put to earn the victory in that event on Saturday, registering a mark of 42'7 3/4”. The sophomore picked up her other top placement in the weight throw with a toss of 52'1 1/2”.

Elsewhere on the infield, sophomore Kelley Freeman (Valparaiso, Ind./Chesterton) took home top honors in the pole vault, clearing 10'2” for the event win. The Crusaders had a pair of freshman earn top-five finishes in the long jump as well, as Marissa Crafton (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) and Alycia Corral (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) finished fourth and fifth with leaps of 15'11 3/4” and 15'9 3/4”, respectively.

On the track, freshman Jessica Richardson (Columbus, Ind./North) picked up Valpo's fourth victory of the day with a top placement in the 5,000m run, covering the distance in 18:17.78, just four seconds outside the Crusaders' all-time top-five in the event. Sophomore Claire Johnson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) posted a runner-up showing in the one mile run, crossing the line in 5:09.06, and also finished fourth in the 800m run with a time of 2:27.24. Meanwhile, freshman Kelli Wosick (Mount Prospect, Ill./Saint Viator) added a fourth-place finish of her own in the 400m dash, coming home in 1:02.20.

Valparaiso has a pair of meets on the docket next weekend. Select athletes will compete at the Meyo Invitational in Notre Dame, Ind., a two-day meet which begins on Friday, Feb. 3, while the Crusaders will also return to Fort Wayne to take part in the Mastodon Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 4.