The Valparaiso University track and field teams wrapped up the first day of the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa on the campus of UNI. The Crusaders had multiple season-best performances on the day. Senior Andrew Guzek (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) led the way with a fifth-place finish in the weight throw, while sophomore Jeremy Seiler (Angola, Ind./Fremont) placed seventh overall in the pole vault. Junior Alexander Bruno (Bloomington, Ill./University) also qualified ninth in the mile run and is set to compete in the final on Sunday.

How It Happened

• Bruno crossed the finish line in a time of 4:17.76, which was ninth-fastest to qualify for the final.

• Freshman Aaliyah Strickland (Chicago, Ill./Westinghouse College Prep.) and sophomore Jordan Houlihan (Hickory Hills, Ill./Amos Alonzo Stagg) improved upon their season-best times in the 60-meter dash. Strickland went from 8.29 to 8.17 and Houlihan moved from 8.57 to 8.48.
• Then in the 200-meter dash, Strickland dropped her season-best time from 28.02 to 27.86.
• In the women’s weight throw, freshman Lauren Mikolajczak (Bloomingdale, Ill./Montini Catholic) improved her season-best throw from 47 feet, 9 inches to 51-1. Junior Nellie Bonham (Palos Hills, Ill./Stagg) set a new season mark from 46-5¼ to 48-10¾, as did freshman Hayley Krulik (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point), who went from 40-11 to 41-03¾.
• Junior Malik Riley (Romeoville, Ill./Romeoville) improved his season-best effort in the long jump from 21-2½ to 21-8¼.
• Seiler finished with a mark of 15-05½ in the pole vault to finish ninth overall.
• Guzek went 61-0 in the weight throw, which placed him fifth overall and improved his season-best from 60-3¼. Sophomore Jake Rasawehr (Celina, Ohio/Celina) also bested his top toss on the season, going from 50-4 to 51-6½.
• The women’s long jump saw sophomores Anne Mou (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park) and Shannon Lahey (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) improve their season-bests from 16-5¼ to 16-7¾ and 16-3 to 16-4½, respectively.

Up Next

The Crusaders will conclude the championships on Sunday with field events beginning at 11 a.m. CT and track events starting at 1:25 p.m. CT. Follow along with live results and live streaming from the UNI Dome.