Valparaiso University freshman Melanie Wilson (Saint Louis, Mo./Rosati-Kain H.S.) set three school records helping to lead the Crusaders to a second place finish at the season-opening Carthage Division I Invitational on Saturday afternoon in Kenosha, Wis.

Wilson won the 55m hurdles by .01 seconds with a school record time of 8.44 seconds, bettering Karie Dahlgren's 1997 mark of 8.55 seconds. The freshman also turned in a school-best jump of 17'11 ¾" in the long jump to capture the title in that event. Her leap bettered Amanda Meyer's (Somerset, Wis./Somerset H.S.) 2003 record by 1'3 ¾". Finally, Wilson was victorious in the triple jump. Her mark of 37'6 ½" won the event by more than three feet, and topped Fran Browden's 1999 jump of 35'8 ½".

As a team, Valpo totaled 109 points, trailing just Marquette which scored 149 points. Wisconsin-Milwaukee finished third with 101 points, followed by DePaul (85), Carthage (76), Loyola (Ill.) (26), and Wisconsin-Parkside (13).

Meyer finished second in the pole vault for the Crusaders, clearing 10'0", while also finishing sixth in the long jump (16'1 ½"). Katrina Roberson (Shelton, Wash./Shelton H.S.) finished sixth in the pole vault clearing 8'11 ¾".

Emilie Marsicek (Spalding, Mich./Carney-Nadeau H.S.) place third in the shot put with a toss of 41'6", while teammate Holly Hagen (Hobart, Ind./Hobart H.S.) was one place behind with a throw of 40'1 ¼". Marsicek set a new school mark in the event, topping Hagen's record from 2004 of 41'5".

On the track, Jobeth Schmiesing (Mankato, Minn./West H.S.) placed fourth in the mile with a time of 5:21.89, while the Crusaders also earned several other top-six finishes.

Laura Arloszynski (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield H.S.) finished sixth in the 55m dash with a time of 7.62 seconds, while Kristy Popp (Willmar, Minn./Bowman H.S., N.D.) earned the same finish in the 800m run, crossing the line in 2:23.18. Rachael Button (Farmington Hills, Mich./Farmington H.S.) finished sixth in the 3,000m run with a time of 10:31.40.

Valpo will return to the oval next Saturday as the Crusaders head to the Chicago Invitational beginning at noon.