Thursday, February 17, 2005

Valparaiso made a splash in the pool on the first day of the 2005 House of Champions Invitational held in Indianapolis, Ind. on Thursday as the Crusaders set two new school records in the meet's first five events.

David Peterson (Schererville, Ind./Highland H.S.) set a new school mark in the 200 individual medley, placing fourth for the Crusaders with a time of 1:56.43. He bettered Seth Bretscher's 1979 time of 1:56.80. Scott Dueball (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West H.S.) and Patrick Kirby (Danville, Ill./Schlarman H.S.) also scored for the Brown and Gold in the event, placing 14th and 15th respectively with times of 2:07.88 and 2:10.97.

Peterson was also a member of Valpo's 400 medley relay that concluded the night setting another new school record. Travers Smith (Huntley, Ill./Huntley H.S.), Peterson, Bob Pedersen (Urbana, Ill./Urbana H.S.), and David Kesler (Beverly Hills, Mich./Birmingham Groves H.S.) touched the wall in 3:34.03, shattering the 2002 mark of 3:35.16. The team placed fifth in the event.

Valpo opened the first day of the three-day event with a sixth place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. Josh Stamper (DeMotte, Ind./Kankakee Valley H.S.), Jeff Lange (Woodbridge, Conn./Amity Regional H.S.), Edward Standen (Saint Joseph, Mich./Saint Joseph H.S.) finished with a time of 1:32.57.

Pedersen and Stachniak led the way for the Crusaders in the 500 free. Pedersen finished 11th with a time of 4:54.33, while Stachniak was one place behind with a time of 4:55.21. Lange also placed 15th for the Brown and Gold, finishing with a time of 4:59.91.

In the other event on Thursday, Bob Schmidt (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville H.S.) was the only Crusader to score in the 50 free. His time of 21.99 seconds earned him a tie for tenth place.

Valpo is in sixth place after day one of competition, having tallied 93.5 points. Eastern Illinois is in the lead with 212.5 points, followed by Western Illinois (189) and IUPU (117). Eastern Michigan is fourth with 115 points, followed by Miami (Ohio) with 101. Vincennes is seventh with 47 points, while Wabash rounds out the field with 40 points.

The Crusaders will return to the pool for the middle day of competition on Friday with preliminary heats beginning at 9 a.m. CST and finals starting at 5 p.m.