The Valparaiso University men’s track team traveled to Naperville, Ill. to take part in the Chicagoland Championships on Saturday afternoon, one day after the women’s team competed at the same meet. In addition, for the second straight day, a number of the Crusader distance runners took to the track at the GVSU Big Meet in Allendale, Mich.

Valpo claimed one event victory at each meet on Saturday. At the Chicagoland Championships, sophomore Andrew Guzek led the Crusaders, finishing in first place in the weight throw with a distance of 56’10 1/4”, beating out second place by 11 inches. Meanwhile, at Grand Valley State, junior Liz Bloy broke the tape in the 800m run, finishing with a time of 2:13.03 to earn the win. Bloy moved into second in Crusader history in the event on Saturday, behind only Crusader Hall of Famer Collette Liss.

Guzek was one of two Crusaders to pick up points in the weight throw at the Chicagoland meet, as junior Christopher Sosnowski, placed sixth with a toss of 52’8 3/4”.  On the track, junior Jeru Lollis picked up eight points when he finished second overall in the 60m dash with a time of 6.94. Lollis’ time ties for the second-best in the event all-time in the Crusader record book. As a team, Valpo totaled 21 points on Saturday, placing 10^th among the 21 competing squads.

While Bloy led the Valpo women’s distance running contingent at GVSU, junior Adam Bruno and sophomore Ben Zibricky both finished in the top eight of the one mile run on the men’s side. Bruno PRed in the event, placing third with a time of 4:17.25 – less than a second outside Valpo’s top-five all-time in the event. Zibricky wasn’t far behind Bruno, placing eighth as he crossed the line in 4:19.81, also a PR in the event.

Both the Crusader men’s and women’s teams will travel to Milwaukee, Wis. next Friday for the Panther Tune Up, as the squads begin their last weekend of competition before the Horizon League Indoor Championships.