The Valparaiso University track & field teams capped off their indoor season at the University of Northern Iowa on Sunday. The teams were led by two triple jumpers, Anne Mou (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park) and T.J. Weinzimmer (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North), who each set a new personal record in the event. During the two-day meet, Valpo athletes set 18 PRs and several more season bests.

How It Happened

• Mou beat her previous best in the triple jump, hitting 37-2½ (11.34m). Weinzimmer followed suit, leaping to a mark of 45-9¾ (13.96m), a seventh-place finish that scored two points for Valpo.
• For the third time in as many years, the men’s 4x400-meter relay team – this time consisting of Emanuel Daggett (Hammond, Ind./Gavit), Taylor Allen (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville), Bryce Otterbach (Mendota, Ill./Mendota Township) and Benjamin Sekuloski (Lowell, Ind./Lowell) – broke into the Top 5 in program history. Their time of 2:23.35 now ranks fifth all-time for Valpo. Sekuloski and Otterbach were also members of the 2017 and 2018 squads that hold the third- and fourth-fastest times.
• The women’s 4x400-meter relay team also set a season best in the event. Sierra Fischer (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield (Carroll), Julia Rustmann (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Grosse Pointe North [Michigan State]), Taylor Justison (Catham, Ill./Glenwood) and Miranda Donahue (Delton, Mich./Delton-Kellogg) combined for a time of 4:12.62, which topped this season’s previous best (4:25.07) by over 12 seconds.
• Will Maidment (Woodstock, Ill./Woodstock) tied his season best in the high jump, clearing 6-5 (1.96m). Sydney Bronner (Frankenmuth, Mich./Frankenmuth) competed for the women and recorded a mark of 5-2½ (1.59m)
• Jack Mader (Granger, Ind./Penn) led Valpo in the men’s 3000-meter run, coming across the line at 8:38.43. He was followed closely by teammates Dominic Paoletti (Monroe, Mich./Monroe St. Mary) and Jack Worman (Hanover Parks, Ill./Hoffman Estates), who finished neck-and-neck at 8:44.40 and 8:44.49, respectively.
• In the women’s 3000-meter run, Katherine Germann (Cincinnati, Ohio/Finneytown) finished at 10:38.62.  

Thoughts from Head Coach Ryan Moore

“A weekend that produces 20+ personal bests from 38 athletes is a great weekend. I could not be happier at how we are improving each time we hit the track. Our team is producing great results and has responded to the challenges we as a staff have laid out for them.”

“This weekend is a great springboard to our outdoor season, and we will be ready for that challenge when spring arrives.”

Up Next

Valpo will take a well-deserved rest in anticipation for the outdoor portion of the schedule. They’ll pick back up on April 5 in Terre Haute for Indiana State’s Gibson Invitational.