VHS Places First at Regional Track Meet

Valparaiso Indiana Track It was a chilly, cloudy afternoon, but Valparaiso High School overcame the less-than-stellar conditions and defeated Merrillville 80-76 on Thursday at the Regional level of the Track & Field state tournament. VHS placed first in a pool of 35 area schools, though there was only two schools toward the top of the day's standings. The Vikings defeating Merrillville by 4, and the third place Chesterton Trojans by 30 points.

Between injuries and untimely falls on the hurdles, the Vikings had a tough time of it. After everything was said and done, though, the team had rallied to take first place. The highlight of the day for the Vikings was during the 4x800 meter relay event. On the last leg of the distance relay, senior Kevin Costalunga came from behind on the home stretch, passing the Crown Point relay team in the last 20 yards to take 1st place in the event. The Vikings won this event by .27 seconds.

Several Vikings earned the right to advance to the final round of the state tournament, including: .

100 Meter Dash: Issac Bullock (junior)
4x100 Meter Relay: Issac Bullock (junior), John Perkins (junior), Scott Shimala (senior), Matthew Hills (senior), Nicholas Thompson (junior), Kevin Piet (senior)
4x400 Meter Relay: Scott Shimala (senior), Nicholas Thompson (junior), Scott Austin (senior), James Elia (junior), Kevin Piet (senior), John Perkins (junior)
4x800 Meter Relay: Kyle Breitenbach (senior), Kevin Costalunga (senior), Brendan Pope (senior), Nicholas Violanti (sophomore), James Elia (junior), Jay Doane (sophomore)

Valparaiso Indiana TrackValpoLife would also like to congratulate one of its own, Mark Passine of Hebron, for his state finals birth in the Discus Throw. Only a junior, Mark placed second in the event, surpassing the State Standard with a 160’4” throw.

For further coverage of the event, we have accumulated several hundred images in our photo gallery of the Regionals meet. You can get there by clicking here. Also, we have put together a video compliation of the event, which you can watch by clicking here.

Congratulations to the Valpo team and good luck at State!