Valparaiso's men's track and field team opened its 2005 indoor season on Saturday afternoon with a third place finish at the Carthage Division I Invitational held in Kenosha, Wis.

The Crusaders tallied 79 points on the afternoon, nine ahead of fourth place DePaul. Wisconsin-Milwaukee was crowned the meet champion with 156 points, followed by Marquette with 138 points. Wisconsin-Parkside was fifth with 51 points, followed by Carthage (42) and Loyola (Ill.) (21).

Elliot Powell (Orange, Calif./Santa Ana H.S.) won the 200m dash for the Crusaders with a time of 22.78 seconds, .21 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. The senior also finished third in the 55m with a time of 6.61 seconds. Josh Lee (Yellow Jacket, Colo./Montezuma-Cortez H.S.) finished sixth in the 55m with a time of 6.77 seconds.

Bryan Bandy (Barrington, Ill./Barrington H.S.) placed fourth in the 55m hurdles finishing in 8.23 seconds, while teammate Brian Schultz (Sheboygan, Wis./South H.S.) was sixth in the same event, .12 seconds behind Bandy.

Valpo's 4x200m relay of Lee, Wesley Kosko (Emporia, Kan./Emporia H.S.), Jeff Moscinski (Rockford, Ill./Christian Life H.S.) captured first place honors with a time of 1:32.80, more than three and a half seconds in front of runner-up Marquette.

On the infield, Jon Braun (Saratoga, Wyo./Saratoga H.S.) finished fourth in the high jump, clearing 6'0 ¾", while Lee earned the same position in the long jump, leaping 21'2".

Todd Goodrick (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester H.S.) earned a runner-up finish in the shot put with a heave of 50'0 ½" to open the season, while Bryan Bell (Bellevue, Neb./East H.S.) turned in a toss of 51'7 ¾" in the weight throw to finish second in that event.

Valpo will return to action next Saturday as the Crusaders head to the Chicago Invitational. The meet will begin at noon.