Valparaiso put itself in contention on day one of the Mid-Continent Conference Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday, as the Crusaders trail defending champion Oakland by just 11 points heading into the middle day of the event in Rochester, Mich.

Oakland leads after three events with 117 points, followed by Valpo with 106 and Western Illinois with 99 points. IUPUI is fourth with 80 and Centenary scored 71 points on day one of the three-day event.

The Crusaders excelled in the only individual event of the day, the 1650 freestyle. Britt Nelson finished in third place with a time of 17:54.49, just ahead of teammate Maggie Kroemer. Kroemer was fourth with a time of 18:20.08. Katie Ryan and Heather Benson also scored in the event, placing 11th and 12th. Ryan touched the wall in 19:44.01, while Benson finished in 20:07.64.

In the 800 free relay, the final event of the day, Nelson, Amanda Gregory, Daniella Tromatore, and Leah Schneider finished in second place, 11 seconds behind Oakland. The team turned in a time of 7:54.61.

The meet opened with Valpo finishing fourth in the 200 medley relay. Lauren Bambach, Ashley Seale, Schneider, and Gregory turned in a time of 1:53.33.

Day two of the championships will continue on Friday with preliminary events starting at 9 a.m. CST and finals commencing at 5 p.m. CST.