Friday, May 14, 2004

Valparaiso University will enter the final day of the Mid-Continent Conference Track and Field Championships in third place after totally 33.5 points through Friday's competition in Cedar City, Utah.

Southern Utah leads the way with 104.5 points, followed by Western Illinois with 97.5. Oral Roberts is fourth with 15.5 points, followed by Chicago State in fifth with 15 and UMKC with seven.

In the first event that was completed on Friday, Joe Dwyer (Lansing, Ill./TF South H.S.) finished in sixth place while Jeff Moscinski (Rockford, Ill./Christian Life H.S.) was eighth in the decathlon. Dwyer scored 5,167 points, second most in school history while Moscinski totaled 4,992 points, a personal best.

Valpo turned in second and fourth place finishes in the long jump on Friday. Joshua Lee (Yellow Jacket, Colo./Montezuma-Cortez H.S.) earned runner-up honors with a leap of 22'8", just 2 ½" off the lead. Wesley Kosko (Emporia, Kan./Emporia H.S.) finished fourth with his jump of 21'11 ½".

The Crusaders also finished fourth and fifth in the shot put as Todd Goodrick (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester H.S.) led the way with a toss of 50'4 ¾". Bryan Bell (Bellevue, Neb./Bellevue East H.S.) then tied for fifth with his 48'8 ¾" effort.

The Crusaders failed to score in the high jump, where David Kranich (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Lutheran H.S.) and Jonathan Braun (Saratoga, Wyo./Saratoga H.S.) each cleared 5'10 ¾", finishing 10th and 11th respectively.

In the only running final on Friday, Matt Blume (Logansport, Ind./Pioneer H.S.) finished fourth with a time of 10:10.08 in the 3,000m steeplechase. Nick Galac (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Grosse Pointe South H.S.) was eighth in the same event crossing the finish line in 11:08.52.

Preliminary heats were also held in the sprints on day two of the competition. In the 110m hurdles, Sean Barfield (University Place, Wash./Curtis H.S.) qualified third with a time of 15.14 seconds, while Adam Wierciak (Ottawa, Ill./Marquette H.S.) was sixth with a time of 15.59 seconds.

Wierciak also earned the top spot in Saturday's final for the 400m hurdles where he turned in a time of 54.61 seconds. Mark Reddel (Melrose Park, Ill./Walther Lutheran H.S.) also qualified sixth in the event with a time of 56.25 seconds.

The 400m dash saw Matthew Wheeler (Dixon, Ill./Dixon H.S.) move into Saturday's finals qualifying sixth with a time of 49.22 seconds. Wesley Kosko (Emporia, Kan./Emporia H.S.) was the only Crusader to advance in the 100m dash, turning in an effort of 11.40 seconds to take the eighth and final spot for the finals.

The Crusaders failed to qualify anyone for the finals in the 200m dash where Kosko was the top finisher in 12th place with a time of 22.69 seconds.

The final day of the championships will take place on Saturday, with events beginning at 10 a.m. CDT.