Valparaiso senior Matt King wasn’t about to allow pain to stand in the way of participating in his final season of collegiate swimming.
King’s injury history goes back to a knee surgery before his senior year of high school. His right knee hasn’t allowed him to compete at his highest level since the surgery. The injury bug bit again this year, when he sat out several weeks with a right shoulder injury.
The Valparaiso senior had a cortisone injection in his shoulder, and swam through pain for the duration of the season.
“I’ve been raised my whole life to grit your teeth and get through pain,” he said. “It’s worth it. If I hadn’t injured my shoulder, I think I could have been a little bit faster, but I made the most of what I had.”
King took 12th in the 200-yard backstroke at the Horizon League Championship with a time of 1:52.45. He bested the previous school record, but teammate Max Penn became the new record-holder by completing the event in 1:51.54.
Another lasting memory that King won’t soon forget came in the final home meet of the year, a 140-121 victory over Eastern Illinois. For the first time in Howard Hunte’s seven years as Valparaiso coach, the Crusaders won both the men’s and women’s portions of a dual meet.
“It was already clear that Valpo was going to win on the women’s side, but the men’s team was going into the final relay only up by a few points,” King said. “If we didn’t win the relay, we were going to lose. That sent us out on a high note.”
Baseball
Valparaiso coach Brian Schmack received some unwelcome news following last season when the team’s co-leader in batting average transferred out of the program.
However, the absence of outfielder Michael Morman has been offset by the additions of junior college transfers Dustin Beasley (Cisco) and Josh Clark (Riverside City) to the Crusaders (3-8) outfield. Beasley is batting .304 with 14 RBIs, while Clark holds a .275 average.
Morman transferred to Richmond to play for former Valparaiso coach Tracy Woodson. He’s hitting .271 with two home runs and 11 RBIs.
“Mike was a good player, but we have guys that are filling that role pretty well,” Schmack said. “Mike is a good guy and it’s a decision he made to leave. He was our leading hitter, tied with (Chris) Manning, but it was also (.296), it wasn’t like he hit .400. We’ve filled the void very nicely.”
Track & field
The chance to add a two-time Olympian and six-time U.S. javelin champion to his coaching staff was something Valparaiso coach Ryan Moore could not pass up.
Through a mutual friend, Moore connected with first-year assistant Tom Pukstys, who was an assistant coach for the United States in the 2012 Olympics in London.
“Tom’s a former American record-holder, so he’s a great resource for us,” Moore said. “He’s getting his grad degree here, so it was a great fit.”
Brandon Vickrey is a freelance writer.
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