Valparaiso University's Bryan Bell (Bellevue, Neb./Bellevue East H.S.) set a new school record in the hammer throw on the opening day of the Mid-Continent Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Cedar City, Utah.

Bell's toss of 153'7" bettered teammate Matt Larson's (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator H.S.) mark of 152'9" set earlier this season. The freshman just missed out on scoring for the Crusaders in the event, finishing in ninth place, 4'7" shy of eighth. Todd Goodrick (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester H.S.) finished tenth with a throw of 151'0".

Valpo currently stands in third place earning two points on day one. Southern Utah jumped out to the quick lead through two events with 46 points, while Western Illinois tallied 28 for second place. UMKC and Chicago State each scored one point on the opening day, while Oral Roberts was shutout.

Adam Piaskowy (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee H.S.) scored the Crusaders lone points in the 10,000m run. His time of 35:34.21 seconds earned him a seventh place finish.

Day one of the championships also marked the first five events of the decathlon. Joe Dwyer (Lansing, Ill./TF South H.S.) currently sits in fourth place with 3,005 points. His best event on the opening day was the 100m dash where he finished second among the ten competitors with a time of 11.32 seconds. Dwyer's teammate Jeff Moscinski (Rockford, Ill./Christian Life H.S.) is currently seventh in the decathlon with 2,762 points. He finished fourth in the 400m run with a mark of 51.63 seconds for his best finish of the day.

The championships will continue on Friday beginning at 10:30 a.m. CDT. The decathlon will conclude on day two, along with preliminary heats in all of the sprints and hurdles. The high jump, long jump, shot put, and 3,000m steeplechase finals will also take place tomorrow.