Ini Umana (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) posted the second-best distance in program history in the weight throw, while Kara Connelly (Sugar Grove, Ill./West Aurora) led Valparaiso with a sixth-place finish in the pole vault as the Crusader women’s track and field squad competed Saturday in the first of two days of competition at the 2010 Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Crusaders tallied a pair of points on day one to sit in eighth place entering Sunday’s portion of the competition.  Milwaukee leads the team standings with 77 points.

Umana surpassed her previous season best in the weight throw by over three feet, recording a mark of 49’9 ¾” to sit behind only Holly Hagen in Crusader history in the event.  Meanwhile, the freshman Connelly improved by five inches over her previous season-best in the pole vault, clearing 9’6” to earn a point for Valpo with her sixth-place showing.

On the track, Alyssa Bradford (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) posted a season-best time of 2:20.14 in the 800m run to lead Valpo with a tenth-place finish, while Haley Kerlin (Rensselaer, Ind./Rensselaer) also ran a season-best time in the 5,000m run to finish 20th, crossing the line in 19:42.10.  The Crusaders also teamed up to earn a point on the track in the distance medley relay, finishing sixth in the event with a time of 13:22.08.

Valparaiso concludes action at the indoor championships Sunday morning beginning at 8 a.m. CST.