Elliot Powell (Orange, Calif./Santa Ana H.S.) set a pair of school records to lead Valparaiso into fourth place after the opening day of the Mid-Continent Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships held in Flagstaff, Ariz. on Monday.

Powell set records for the Brown and Gold in both the 60m and 200m dash preliminary heats, qualifying him for Tuesday's finals. Powell's time of 6.94 seconds in the 60m semifinals bettered his own school mark of 6.96 seconds set last year. The senior's time of 22.20 seconds in the 200m also bettered his own previous mark of 22.31 seconds set in 2004.

Chris Daniels (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame H.S.) also qualified for the finals of the 60m dash with a time of 7.00 seconds in the semifinals.

Day one saw five event finals take place. Joshua Lee (Yellow Jacket, Colo./Montezuma-Cortez H.S.) finished second for Valpo in the long jump. The senior turned in a leap of 22'3".

In the weight throw, Matt Larson (Arlington Heights, Ill./Saint Viator H.S.) and Bryan Bell (Bellevue, Neb./East H.S.) finished seventh and eighth respectively for the Brown and Gold. Larson turned in a toss of 54'0" while his teammate was 7 ½" behind.

The pole vault saw Josh Stamper (DeMotte, Ind./Kankakee Valley H.S.) earn Valpo's lone point with his eighth place finish clearing 13'1 ½".

On the oval, Valpo's distance medley relay finished fourth. The team of Josh Parker (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park H.S.), Jeff Moscinski (Rockford, Ill./Christian Life H.S.), Jason Douthett (Highland, Ind./Highland H.S.), and Adriano Schultz (Brecksville, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights H.S.) turned in a time of 11:10.85.

The only other event final on Monday was the 3,000m where Adam Piaskowy (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee H.S.) finished ninth with a time of 9:50.91.

In other preliminary heats on day one, Sean Barfield (University Place, Wash./Curtis H.S.) advanced to Tuesday's final in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.57 seconds. Matthew Wheeler (Dixon, Ill./Dixon H.S.) was Valpo's top finisher in the 400m, placing 15th but did not advance with a time of 51.88 seconds.

The Crusaders scored 17 points on the opening day of the two day event, five more than fifth place UMKC and 13 more than sixth place Chicago State. Southern Utah leads with 60 points while Western Illinois is second with 55.5 points. Oral Roberts is third with 43.5 points.

The competition will conclude on Tuesday in Flagstaff beginning at 11 a.m. CST.