Track and field team to host 2016 Horizon League Championships
When Valparaiso coach Ryan Moore recruited this year’s freshman class, his pitch sounded a little different than it did for the previous seven seasons.
For the first time in program history, the Crusaders have a home track. The days of Moore attempting to convince athletes to compete for a program that does not have its own facility are no more.
“I remember sitting in the office and having a sample piece of the track itself and saying, ‘This is what you’re going to be running on,’ and putting that in their hands last year,” Moore said. “They knew it was coming, so it’s a little extra something for them to get excited about.”
Something else for Val- paraiso track and field athletes to be excited about is the 2016 Horizon League Championships, which will be hosted by the Crusaders.
Valparaiso’s first-ever home meet is set for April 25, but the athletes already have received their first taste of the new facility during fall practices.
“As coaches, we can gauge what we’re doing with them, where before you’re out there with a measuring wheel trying to figure things out,” Moore said. “We’ve spent a lot more time outside because the indoor track that we have is tough on your feet.”
Women’s bowling
Many coaches use the tired cliche regarding an athlete that is “like having another coach,” but when Val- paraiso coach Matt Nantais utters such a phrase, he does so in a literal sense.
Crusaders senior Torrie Decker took a coaching class over the summer and will be a silver certified coach by season’s end. Decker is also contributing on the lanes, with a team-best 198 average.
The relationship between Nantais and Decker is mutually beneficial. Decker gains information that will help her in a future coaching role, while Nantais knowns the team is in good hands when he cannot attend practice.
“Players are trusting of what she says,” Nantais said. “If players hear something from a third party, they realize that what I was telling them might be right. The way I’m explaining something might not click with somebody, and Torrie can tell them the exact same thing and it may work for them.”
Swimming
Competing with other Horizon League schools long has been a challenge for Valparaiso.
The Crusaders, who have the lowest scholarship allotment in the league, are set to begin the annual uphill climb of preparing for February’s conference championships.
“Every year has been a step up on recruiting, and we’ve done it with very little money available,” coach Howard Hunte said. “I don’t want to say huge expectations (for the conference meet) because I don’t want to put a lot of pressure on the team, but I do expect a lot of good times in conference.”