The Valparaiso University track & field team completed another solid showing on Friday, wrapping up the Elaine Leigh Invite hosted by Oakland University in Rochester, Mich. Tristan Malatlian (Pfafftown, N.C. / Reagan) picked up an event win for the Beacons in the pole vault.

How It Happened

• Malatlian established a new outdoor personal best in the pole vault by clearing 4.80 meters (15-9), a mark that ranks third in program history.
• Maranda Donahue (Delton, Mich. / Delton-Kellogg) continued to run well, stopping the clock in the women’s 800 in 2:17.74, establishing a new personal record. She finished as the runner-up in a 29-athlete field. Donahue also finished seventh of 49 in the 1,500, completing the race in 4:39.91.
• Elsewhere on the track for the Valpo women, Isabella Smith (Chesterton, Ind. / Chesterton) placed eighth in the 400 with a PR of 1:00.69. Kai Dilosa (Merrillville, Ind. / Lake Central) finished the 200 in 26.70, setting a PR of her own while placing 11^th of 30.
• On the men’s side, Eric Carothers (Fishers, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern) achieved a top-10 finish in the 1,500 at 3:56.22, placing 10^th of 51. He was followed closely by teammate Simeon Ehm, whose PR of 3:56.54 ranked 11^th in that event.
• Other top-10 finishes on the men’s track came courtesy of Lukas Sepulveda (Camano Island, Wash. / Stanwood), who was seventh of 25 at 23.12 in the 200, and Anthony Vassolo (Tinley Park, Ill. / Andrew), who PR’d with a 10^th-place time of 51.50 in the 18-runner 400.
• In the jumps, freshman Micah Mullings (Minesing, Ontario, Canada / Barrie North) finished third of 13 in the long jump at 7.01m (23-0). He also placed third of six in the triple jump at 13.40m (43-11.75).
• The throws were highlighted by Tori Gerhardt (Westville, Ind. / Chesterton) finishing in the top 10 in three different events. Her shot put of 11.14m (36-6.75) helped her place seventh of 24. She covered 42.11m (138-2) with her hammer throw that ranked 10^th of 24. Gerhardt’s highest finish was sixth of 20 in the discus, where she turned in a heave of 35.48m (116-5).
• In the men’s throws, it was Reid Davis (Nashville, Ind. / Brown County) achieving a PR of 38.85m in the discus to place seventh of 24. Other top 10s came courtesy of Tommy Palmer (Saco, Maine/  Phillips Exeter Academy), who was fifth of 18 in the javelin at 45.25m (148-5), and Joe Irons, who was eighth of 17 in the hammer at 45.94m (150-8).
• Click here for full results. 

Up Next

Select distance runners will participate in the Drake Relays next week, while the remainder of the squad takes part in the Louisville Clark Wood Invitational.