The Valparaiso University track & field program notched several event wins and had multiple student-athletes climb in the program record book as part of the Blue Demon Alumni Classic, hosted by DePaul this weekend at Dr. Conrad Worrill Indoor Track and Field Facility in Chicago. Evan Walda (Fort Wayne, Ind. / South Side) added to his list of program records on Saturday.

How It Happened

• Walda posted a time of 8:14.50 in the men’s 3000, edging out Ignacio Veloz Bonilla’s indoor record of 8:15.19 from last season.
• The Beacons swept the men’s and women’s unseeded 3000 events with Grace Aurand (Highland, Ind. / Highland) winning her race in 10:15.32 and Joseph Scheele (Mahomet, Ill. / Mahomet-Seymour) doing the same on the men’s side in 8:34.22.
• Elsewhere in the distance, Simeon Ehm (Castle Rock, Colo. / Heritage) stopped the clock in 4:13.73 in the seeded mile, placing third of 11. Ehm turned in the third-fastest indoor mile in program history, behind only Tom Kilcoyne’s 1978 time of 4:13.0 and Alexander Bruno’s 2018 time of 4:05.75.
• In the jumps, AJ Walsh (Lombard, Ill. / IC Catholic Prep) cleared 1.90m in the high jump to take the top spot, while Micah Mullings (Minesing, Ontario, Canada / Barrie North) won the long jump with a leap of 6.80m.
• In the throws, Nate Smith (Lake Station, Ind. / Lake Station) finished third of 20 in the men’s shot put at 14.40m, while Will Rinker’s (Valparaiso, Ind. / Chesterton) weight throw of 15.86m was good for fourth.
• In the women’s throws, Tori Gerhardt (Westville, Ind. / Chesterton) posted a top-5 finish in the weight throw, coming in fourth with a mark of 15.74m.

Up Next

The Beacons will compete in the Meyo Invitational hosted by Notre Dame on Feb. 2-3.