Results

16 top-five finishes Saturday, led by four apiece from Amanda Body (Harlan, Ky./Harlan) and Melanie Wilson (Saint Louis, Mo./Rosati-Kain), helped propel Valparaiso to a second-place finish at the DePauw Invitational in Greencastle, Ind.  Among Wilson’s top-fives was a new school record in the 55m hurdles.

The Crusaders tallied 124 points on the meet, outpacing third-place Southern Indiana by 32 points.  Valpo finished just 13 points behind Indiana State for the team title.

Wilson broke her own school record in the 55m hurdles, crossing the line in 8.39 seconds to earn the event victory.  Her time was three one-hundredths faster than her previous best in the event.  The senior also posted runner-up finishes in the 200m dash (26.55 seconds) and triple jump (36’5 ½”) and came home in third place in the long jump (17’0 ¾”).

Body counted two victories among her four top-five placements.  She took top honors in the 200m dash (26.18 seconds) and triple jump (36’7 ½”).  The junior also tallied a second-place finish in the 55m dash with a time of 7.41 seconds, second-fastest in the event in school history.  Body also placed second in the long jump, leaping 17’6 ¾”.

Two other Crusaders registered multiple top-five finishes.  Emilie Marsicek (Spalding, Mich./Carney-Nadeau) took home a victory in the shot put, tossing the apparatus 43’6”, and also placed fifth in the weight throw with a mark of 42’0 ¾”.  Lakisha Lane (Topeka, Kan./Highland Park) registered a second-place finish in the 55m hurdles, crossing the line in 8.58 seconds, and came home fifth in the 200m dash with a time of 27.01 seconds.

Ini Umana (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) tallied a top-five finish of her own on the infield, placing third in the weight throw with a distance of 45’9 ¼”.  Back on the track, Alyssa Bradford (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) had a fifth-place showing in the mile run with a time of 5:23.00, while Rachel Howell (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) finished in the same spot in the 3,000m run, crossing the line in 12:00.63.  The Crusaders’ 4x400m relay squad took top honors with a time of 4:06.75, the third-best in the event all-time at Valpo.

Valparaiso returns to the track next weekend at the Chicagoland Championships in Romeoville, Ill. on Friday, February 15.  First event is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.