The Valparaiso University men’s and women’s track and field teams concluded the 2017 Horizon League Outdoor Championships on Sunday. The men finished in fifth place with 49 points and the women ended in eighth with 24 points. Senior Liz Owen (Freedom, Wis./Freedom) received the top honor over the weekend by earning a first-place nod in the 1,500m race.

How It Happened

• Junior Jonny Heagy (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) took home seventh place in the high jump, soaring over the bar at 6’0 3/4". The jumper’s outcome awarded the Crusaders two points.
• The team of senior Jeru Lollis (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield), junior James Sampson (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) and freshmen Bryce Otterbach (Mendota, Ill./Mendota Township) and Benjamin Sekuloski (Lowell, Ind./Lowell) finished in fifth in the 4x100m relay. The group tallied four points with their time of 43.24. Sekuloski came in fourth in the 400m dash, sprinting a 49.40, receiving five points for his effort.
• The squad of sophomores Alex Ruscitti and Joshua Yonker (West Dundee, Ill./H.D. Jacobs) and Otterbach and Sekuloski finished the 4x400m relay in 3:26.00, tallying five points.
• In the 1,500m race, sophomore Alexander Bruno (Bloomington, Ill./University) crossed the line in fifth, capturing five points with his time of 3:58.22.
• Junior thrower Andrew Guzek (Valparaiso, Ind./ Valparaiso) added a sixth-place finish in the hammer throw to his list of accomplishments from the weekend. He swung the hammer 164’5” to grab three points for Valpo. He adds three feet and five inches to his season-best mark in the event.
• Freshman Nick Ricks (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran North) secured three points for the Brown and Gold in the triple jump. The jumper leaped 45’4 1/2".
• Junior Ben Zibricky (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way Central) led the squad in the 800m race and earned one point. Otterbach paced the Crusaders in the 400m hurdles and won a point. Jack Mader has the best finish in the 5,000m race.
• Owen ran a 4:46.60 in the 1,500m race, taking home 10 points.
• Sophomore Nellie Bonham (Palos Hills, Ill./Stagg) had a hammer toss of 144’9” to secure a seventh-place mark, taking home two points. She was seven inches away from cracking the Top 5 in team history in the event.
• Freshman Anne Mou (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park) led Valpo in the triple jump, having a distance of 36’7 1/2". She now holds the fourth-best distance in Crusader history.
• The relay of freshmen Shannon Lahey (Dixon, Ill./Dixon), Kayla Horne (Chicago, Ill./Luther North College Prep) and Jordan Houlihan (Hickory Hills, Ill./Amos Alonzo Stagg), along with sophomore Lindsey Arndt (Valparaiso, Ind./Wheeler) added three points with their performance in the 4x100m event.
• Junior Kim Heiny (Burnettesville, Ind./Twin Lakes) led the women in the 5,000m run. In the 4x400m relay, the team of freshman Carly Bartholomew (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland), junior Allison Baylor (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson), Horne and Lahey crossed the line in 4:11.14, Valpo’s best time in the event this season.