Valparaiso University's men are in fourth place after the opening day of the Mid-Continent Conference Swimming and Diving Championships held in Indianapolis, Ind. on Thursday evening.

The Crusaders tallied 80 points, one behind third place Western Illinois. Oakland leads the meet with 148 points, followed by IUPUI with 112 points.

The Brown and Gold opened with a third place finish in the 200 medley relay. The team of Travers Smith (Huntley, Ill./Huntley H.S.), Jeff Ewers (Huntertown, Ind./Carroll H.S.), Sean Conrin (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Buffalo Grove H.S.), and David Kesler (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville H.S.) touched the wall in 1:37.02, the second fastest time in school history.

In the 1650m freestyle, Dan Johnson (Palatine, Ill./Fremd H.S.) was the first to touch for Valpo, doing so in a time of 17:48.60, placing eighth. Neal Badgett (Houston, Texas/Strake Jesuit Prep H.S.) was two places in back of Johnson with a time of 17:57.69.

The Crusaders concluded day one with a fourth place showing in the 800 free relay. Johnson, Bob Pedersen (Urbana, Ill./Urbana H.S.), Colin Simpson (Rockford, Ill./Auburn H.S.), and Bob Schmidt (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville H.S.) turned in a time of 7:25.43.

Valpo will continue competing at the championships on Friday, with the meet concluding on Saturday.