Ini Umana (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) posted one of the best performances in Crusader history in the throws for the second straight day as the Valparaiso women’s track and field squad finished in eighth place at the 2010 Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships.  Milwaukee’s women took the team title with 174 points over the two-day meet.

Umana, who registered the second best mark in the weight throw all-time at Valpo on Saturday, also stood out in the shot put on Sunday, recording a toss of 38’2 ¼”, a career-best in the event, fifth-best in Crusader history and good for a seventh-place finish.  Fellow thrower Natalie McCorriston (Lansdowne, Pa./Cardinal O’Hara) finished tenth in the same event, posting a season-best mark of 36’5 ¾”.

On the track, Windy Santa Cruz (Fall Creek, Wis./Fall Creek) led the way with a 13th-place showing in the one mile run, crossing the line in 5:42.81.  Sara Christensen (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) paced the Crusaders in the 3,000m run on Sunday as well, registering a season-best time of 11:09.69 for a 19th-place finish.

The end of the Horizon League Championships also marks the end of Valparaiso’s 2010 indoor campaign.  The Crusader track and field squad reconvenes outdoors on March 27 at the Polar Bear Invitational in Marion, Ind.