Friday, May 11, 2007

For the second straight day, Steve Bartholomew (Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Township) posted a podium finish, coming in second place in the discus throw to lead Valparaiso on the second day of competition at the 2007 Mid-Continent Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Kansas City, Mo.

The Crusaders sit in fourth place after two of the three days of competition, having totaled 29 points to date, just five points behind third-place Oral Roberts. Southern Utah currently leads the team race with 113 points.

The junior registered a season-best toss of 168'6" for his runner-up finish, less than two feet shy of the school record he set last season at the conference championship meet. Bartholomew led a trio of Crusaders in the top-nine, as Eric Smith (Portage, Ind./Portage) placed sixth with an effort of 142'8", while Christopher Stohs (Shawnee, Kan./Shawnee Mission North) came home ninth with a mark of 123'11".

Chris Honig (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard South [Indiana]) placed fifth in the 3,000m steeplechase Friday, crossing the line in 9:53.48. Dustin Lawrence (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central) finished sixth in the decathlon, scoring 4,163 points. Lawrence's best event showing came in the 1,500m run, where he placed fourth.

Tom Heun (Brecksville, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) represented Valpo in the jumps Friday, taking seventh place in the high jump with a height of 5'8 ¾" and 16th place in the long jump with a leap of 16'10 ½". Heun also ran in the preliminaries of the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles, but did not qualify for the finals in either event.

Valparaiso, whose best finish in Mid-Con championship history is fourth place, will look to match or better that on Saturday on the final day of the championship meet. The first event is slated to start at 10 a.m.