The Valparaiso University women's track and field team is currently in sixth place after the opening day of the Mid-Continent Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday evening in Sterling, Ill.

Southern Utah leads the competition with 52 points, followed by Western Illinois with 33 points. UMKC is third tallying 26 points, Oral Roberts is fourth with 21 points, followed by Chicago State (eight points) and the Crusaders with six points.

Valpo's scoring on day one came in the distance medley as the team of Elizabeth Kinneer (Brighton, Mich./Brighton H.S.), Amy Mikel (Lemont, Ill./Fenwick H.S.), Jobeth Schmiesing (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West H.S.), and Elizabeth Whiting (Parma, Mich./Western H.S.) crossed the finish line in third place with a time of 13:19.06.

The 3,000m run saw Amanda Lee (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon H.S.) just miss scoring for the Brown and Gold with her ninth place finish in a time of 10:42.99.

On the infield, Amanda Meyer (Somerset, Wis./Somerset H.S.) also finished in ninth place in the long jump with a leap of 16'1", while Holly Hagen (Hobart, Ind./Hobart H.S.) was the Crusaders top finisher in the weight throw with a toss of 42'7½".

Friday also saw the preliminary heats in the sprints. Freshman Maggie Zellner (Downers Grove, Ill./Benet Academy) was the lone Crusader to qualify for the finals. Her time of 59.45 seconds in the 400m dash qualified her fourth. Zellner also turned in Valpo's top time in the 200m dash with a time of 27.04 seconds, but did not advance, placing 12th. Mary Frisch (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton H.S.) placed 13th in the 60m hurdles with a time of 10.47 seconds.

The Brown and Gold will return to the oval on Saturday morning to conclude the conference championships. Field events begin at 10 a.m. with running finals starting at noon.