The Valparaiso women's track and field team turned in a sixth place finish on Saturday afternoon at the Carthage Division I Invitational held in Kenosha, Wis.

The Crusaders tallied 54 points for the meet, while champion Marquette brought home 186 points.

The Brown and Gold did most of its scoring in the distance events on the afternoon. Rachel Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit H.S.) earned a pair of top-six finishes. The sophomore placed fifth in the 800m run with a time of 2:22.33, while crossing the finish line in sixth place in the mile (5:10.39).

Rachel Stoehr (Antigo, Wis./Antigo H.S.) and Jobeth Schmiesing (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West H.S.) both scored in the 3,000m run with Stoehr placing fifth in 10:50.34 and Schmiesing taking seventh with a mark of 11:18.13.

In the 5,000m run, Amanda Lee (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon H.S.) and Heidi Nathan (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford H.S.) were the Crusaders top finishers in fourth and fifth place respectively. Lee had the team's top time of 18:48.92.

In the sprints, Maggie Zellner (Downers Grove, Ill/Benet Academy) had Valpo's top performance, scoring in the 400m. The freshman placed fourth with the second fastest time in school history, 59.90 seconds, for the Brown and Gold.

On the infield, Martha Josephson (Detroit Lakes, Minn./Detroit Lakes H.S.) finished fifth in the high jump, clearing 4'11 ¾". Josephson also scored in the triple jump, tying teammate Lindsey Haan (Westminster, Colo./Denver Lutheran H.S.) for eighth place at 32'8 ½". Amanda Meyer (Hudson, Wis./Somerset H.S.) earned an eighth place finish in the long jump with a 16'1 ¾" leap. Her mark was the second best in Crusader history.

Katie Vogt (Hamburg, N.J./Wallkill Valley H.S.) was Valpo's top thrower at the meet, earning an eighth place finish in the weight throw. The junior turned in a heave of 36'4".

The Crusaders will return to the oval next weekend when they travel down to Indianapolis to compete in the Stan Lyons Invitational. The meet is scheduled to begin at noon CST.