Valparaiso University's distance medley relay won the Mid-Continent Conference title on Friday evening helping the Crusaders to a fourth place standing following day one of the Mid-Con Indoor Track and Field Championships held in Sterling, Ill.

The Crusaders scored 15 points on the opening day, and trail third place Oral Roberts by seven heading into Saturday. Southern Utah leads with 53 points, followed by Western Illinois with 40 points. UMKC scored 16 points and Chicago State 14 on Friday.

Valpo's distance medley team of Amy Mikel (Lemont, Ill./Fenwick H.S.), Maggie Zellner (Downers Grove, Ill./Benet Academy), Amanda Meyer (Somerset, Wis./Somerset H.S.), and Rachel Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit H.S.) cruised to an 11-second victory in the event over Western Illinois with a time of 12:25.59. That mark is the second fastest in school history.

In other events that held finals on Friday, Holly Hagen (Hobart, Ind./Hobart H.S.) was the only other scorer for the Brown and Gold, turning in a fourth place finish in the weight throw with a toss of 51'8 ½". In the long jump, Annie Elzey (Cornell, Ill./Flanagan H.S.) finished in 15th place with a leap of 15'0", while Amanda Lee (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon H.S.) was Valpo's top finisher in the 3000m run. Her time of 10:49.92 earned her tenth place.

Preliminary heats were also held in the sprints on Friday, but Valpo failed to qualify any runners for the finals. Laura Arloszynski (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield H.S.) turned in a time of 8.08 second in the 60m dash and earned a spot in the semifinals, but finished in 11th spot overall, with the top-eight advancing. Her time was the second fastest in school history. Arloszynski was also Valpo's top finisher in the 200m dash with a time of 27.24 seconds, placing 16th.

In the 400m, Zellner was the Crusaders top finisher, finishing tenth with a time of 1:01.88, while Emilie Marsicek (Spalding, Mich./Carney-Nadeau H.S.) finished 13th in the 60m hurdles with a time of 10.44 seconds.

The Crusaders will return to the track on Saturday morning as the Mid-Con Championships conclude, beginning at 10 a.m.