Valparaiso's men's swimming and diving team placed fifth at the Mid-Continent Conference Championships which concluded Saturday in Rochester, Mich.

The Crusaders finished with 387 points. Oakland was crowned the champion with 808 points, followed by Western Illinois with 643 points. Centenary was third with 598 points, followed by 573 points.

Valpo opened the final day with a fourth place finish as Travers Smith (Huntley, Ill./Huntley H.S.) turned in a time of 1:58.93 in the 200 backstroke.

David Peterson (Schererville, Ind./Highland H.S.) placed third in the 200 breaststoke. The sophomore touched the wall in 2:11.06, less than a second out of second place. Peterson was also fifth in the 200 individual medley, turning in a time of 1:59.51.

Jeff Lange (Woodbridge, Conn./Amity Regional H.S.) was 11th in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:58.81, while Bob Pedersen (Urbana, Ill./Urbana H.S.) was Valpo's top finisher in the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.04 seconds. David Kesler (Beverly Hills, Mich./Birmingham Groves H.S.) finished 12th in the 100 free, touching the wall in 49.54 seconds.

The Crusaders' 400 free relay concluded the meet with a third place showing. Smith, Kesler, Pederson, and Peterson finished in 3:13.53, outtouching Centenary by .13 seconds.

Valpo will return to action on December 21 at 1 p.m. CST as the Brown and Gold travels to Indianapolis to face IUPUI. Please note, this is a change from the originally scheduled meet on December 9.