Junior Bill Rixon (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) picked up a sixth-place finish in the discus throw on Friday, leading the Valparaiso men's track and field team on the first of three days of action at the 2011 Horizon League Outdoor Championships in Indianapolis, Ind.

Rixon unleashed a season-best toss in the discus throw of 152'10” to place sixth in the first field event of the league's outdoor meet, coming up just four inches shy of a top-five showing.  Sophomore Ryan Stegenga (South Holland, Ill./Illiana Christian) also competed in the event, placing 14th, while on the track, senior Joel Hartenberger (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia) ran to a 14th-place finish in the 10,000m run with a time of 35:13.58.

Rixon's sixth-place finish earned the Crusaders a point, as Valparaiso sits in sixth place out of seven competing teams on a limited first day of competition.  Action resumes Saturday morning at 8 a.m. CDT.