Saturday, December 06, 2003

Valparaiso University's men's swimming and diving team concluded the Mid-Continent Conference Championships in fourth place on Saturday in Indianapolis, Ind.

The Crusaders tallied 500 points over three days, while Oakland won the title with 935 points. Western Illinois was second with 680 points, with IUPUI placing third with 671 points.

Travers Smith (Huntley, Ill./Huntley H.S.) got the Brown and Gold going on the final day with a second place finish in the 200 backstroke. The freshman touched the wall in 1:57.69. Teammate Colin Simpson (Rockford, Ill./Auburn H.S.) was fifth in the same event with a mark of 2:02.32.

Dan Johnson (Palatine, Ill./Fremd H.S.) was Valpo's top finisher in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:04.77, placing tenth, while Sean Conrin (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Buffalo Grove H.S.) earned a fifth place finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.24 seconds.

Valpo again placed two in the top-five in the 200 breaststroke, as David Peterson (Schererville, Ind./Highland H.S.) led the way with a fourth place finish in a time of 2:16.15. Jeff Ewers (Huntertown, Ind./Carroll H.S.) was one place behind with a mark of 2:16.60. Bob Schmidt (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville H.S.) then earned a fifth place time in the 100 free, touching the wall in 47.86 seconds.

Peterson then closed out the individual portion of the meet with a fifth place effort in the 200 individual medley. He touched the wall in 2:02.96.

The Crusaders concluded the competition with a third place finish in the 400 free relay. The team of Smith, Conrin, David Kesler (Beverly Hills, Mich./Birmingham Groves H.S.), and Schmidt earned a time of 3:13.58.

Valpo will take the holidays off before returning to the pool on January 8 for a 5 p.m. meet against Hope at the Athletics-Recreation Center.