The Valparaiso track and field squads fared well against stiff competition at the Gibson Invitational on Saturday at Indiana State. The teams were led by Hayley Krulik (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) – who set two personal records – and Jack Mader (Granger, Ind./Penn), who also achieved a personal best.  

How It Happened

• Krulik set a new career watermark in the hammer throw, and now has the team’s best mark of the season at 143-8 (43.80m). If that wasn’t enough, she also set a new career best in the discus throw at 105-0 (32.01m). For the second meet in a row, Mader set a career best mark in the 1500-meter run. His time of 3:57.60 was good for fourth place in the event.
• Dominic Paoletti (Monroe, Mich./Monroe St. Mary) and Ignacio Veloz Bonilla (San Juan, P.R., American Military Academy) also set a personal bests in the event. Both Paoletti’s time of 4:01.52 and Veloz Bonilla’s time of 4:03.14 represent improvements of nearly five seconds over their previous bests.
• Junior Jeremy Seiler (Angola, Ind./Fremont) finished tied for second in the pole vault, clearing 15-7 (4.75m).
• Jake Rasawehr (Celina, Ohio/Celina) picked up a third-place finish in the discus throw, landing a mark of 156-8 (47.74m).
• Quinten Holley (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) set a personal best in the hammer throw by over five meters, finishing with a mark of 130-7 (39.80m). Rasawehr also set a personal best in the event with a mark of 150-0 (45.72m).
• Junior Taylor Allen (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) set a career-best in the 200-meter dash, finishing the race in 22.69. Ben Sekuloski (Lowell, Ind./Lowell) nearly set a personal record as well, finishing just behind Allen at 22.73.
• Lauren Mikolajczak (Bloomingdale, Ill./Montini Catholic) earned a personal best mark in the shot put, finishing with a throw of 35-8½ (10.88m). Mikolajczak also set a season-best mark in the discus throw, hitting 112-4 (34.24m).
• Sophomore Carli Sowonik (Hebron, Ind./Hebron) finished fifth in the women’s pole vault, clearing a height of 11-0¼, which is more than two inches better than her last meet.
• Bryce Otterbach (Mendota, Ill./Mendota Township) set the team’s best mark of the season in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing in 57.84. Zack Fortener (Byron, Ill./Byron) also competed in the event, finishing with a career-best time of 58.05.
• Connor Hickey (Peru, Ill./LaSalle-Peru) picked up a sixth-place finish in the 800-meter dash with a time of 1:56.01. Ronald Black (O’Fallon, Ill/O’Fallon) also ran in the event and recorded a career best time of 1:58.19.
• Katherine Germann (Cincinnati, Ohio/Finneytown) finished seventh in a large field for the women’s 5K, coming across the line at 18:40.58 – an improvement of nearly seven seconds over her last meet.
• Sydney Bronner (Frankenmuth, Mich./Frankenmuth) competed in her first outdoor meet, tying for sixth place with a mark of 5-1 (2.50m) in the high jump.
• Freshman Gunnar Ashmon (Rancho Santa Margan, Calif./Crean Lutheran) saw his first outdoor action in the 400-meter dash and recorded a time of 53.77.

Thoughts From Head Coach Ryan Moore:

“The throwers set the tone for us. Hayley Krulik had a great day in the women’s hammer throw. Jake Rasawehr’s performance in men’s discus is exciting for me to see. When we get consistency in throws (five of six at 47 meters), it means big things are on the horizon. I expect him to make a run at the conference championships in the men’s discus.”

“It’s really exciting to see the group compete with each other. Those little moments are what drive us to be better each week. It’s important for us to learn how to embrace the challenge from teammates and still find joy in each other’s performances.”

“We want our competition at its best each week. When that is the case and we taste victory, it’s sweet.”

Up Next

Valpo will head to the University of Illinois for the Twilight Invitational for the team’s next meet on Saturday, April 13.