Friday, December 05, 2003

Valparaiso University's men's swimming and diving team is in fourth place following day two of the Mid-Continent Conference Swimming and Diving Championships held in Indianapolis, Ind.

The Crusaders have scored 297 points two-thirds of the way through the meet, while Oakland remains in the lead with 576 points. IUPUI is second with 420 points and Western Illinois is third with 388 points.

Valpo opened the day with a third place finish in the 200 freestyle relay, as Travers Smith (Huntley, Ill./Huntley H.S.), Sean Conrin (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Buffalo Grove H.S.), David Kesler (Beverly Hills, Mich./Birmingham Groves H.S.), and Bob Schmidt (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville H.S.) touched the wall in 1:27.62.

Bob Pedersen (Urbana, Ill./Urbana H.S.) was the Crusaders' top finisher in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:03.62 in the second event of the night. Schmidt then earned a fifth place finish in the 200 free with a mark of 1:47.16, while Keith Aumend (Lake Worth, Fla./Worthington H.S.) was seventh in the same event with a time of 1:48.47.

Valpo placed two in the top-five of the 100 breaststroke, as Jeff Ewers (Huntertown, Ind./Carroll H.S.) earned a third place finish with a time of 1:00.60, while David Peterson (Schererville, Ind./Highland H.S.) was two spots behind with a mark of 1:01.42.

Smith then earned the Crusaders second straight third place finish with a time of 54.03 seconds in the 100 backstroke. Colin Simpson (Rockford, Ill./Auburn H.S.) also finished in the top-eight in the event with a time of 56.74 seconds.

The 400 individual medley saw Ewers, Valpo's lone entry, finish in ninth place with a time of 4:35.30. Schmidt earned the same place finish in the 50 free with a time of 22.43 seconds to conclude the individual events of the day.

In the day's final event, the 400 medley relay, Valpo placed second as the team of Smith, Peterson, Conrin, and Schmidt touched the wall in 3:35.25, .22 seconds in front of IUPUI for the runner-up position.

The Crusaders will return to the pool on Saturday for the final day of competition. Preliminary heats begin at 9 a.m. CST, with the finals set for 5 p.m. CST.