The Valparaiso University men’s and women’s track and field teams finished the first day of competition in the Eastern Illinois Big Blue Classic on Friday. Of the 17 schools participating in the event, the men are in eighth with two points and the women enter Saturday seeking their first team point.  

How It Happened

• Earning Valpo’s first two points in the event, senior Max Morello (Plano, Ill/Plano) crossed the finish in seventh in the 10,000 meter run, running a 32:35.4. The veteran trimmed 30 seconds off his 2016 season-best time and fell just shy of entering the Top 10 in school history.
• Junior Montel Hall (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) captured the men’s second-best overall finish from Day 1 of the Classic, taking 14th in the long jump (21-0.5).
• Leading the Crusaders in throwing events, junior Andrew Guzek (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) achieved a distance of 45-3.5 in the shot put and a 145-4 in the hammer throw.
• Jack Mader led the team in the 5,000m race and freshman Bryce Otterbach (Mendota, Ill./Mendota Township) was the top Valpo runner in the 400m hurdles.
• Sophomore Chidimma Ozodi (South Milwaukee, Wis./South Milwaukee) earned the best finish for the women. Her performance in the long jump (16-4.5) scored her a 15th-place result.
• Sophomore Nellie Bonham (Palos Hills, Ill./Stagg) led the Crusaders in two events, in the shot put (38-10.50) and the hammer throw (130-05.00). Her distance in the shot put moves the thrower into fifth in team history in that event.
• Junior Kim Heiny (Burnettsville, Ind./Twin Lakes) finished as the women’s only runner on the first day of competition, holding a time of 19:10.06 in the 5,000m race.

Next Up

The Big Blue Classic resumes with Day 2 on Saturday in Charleston, Ill.