After the first day of competition at the Mid-American Conference men's swimming and diving championships, Ball State University is in last place.
The Cardinals are in fourth of the four MAC teams with 35 points while Eastern Michigan University leads the conference with 177.5 points. Miami University and the University at Buffalo are second and third with 109 and 65 points.
The MAC is also competing with schools from the Sun Belt Conference. Though the conferences are competing together for the first time, each will crown its own champion for each event and overall.
The University of Denver and Missouri State University are tied for the lead in the Sun Belt and overall competitions with 205 points. Western Kentucky University is fourth overall with 147.5 points, one place behind Eastern Michigan and one place ahead of Miami.
Southern Illinois University files in at sixth overall with 101 points, just ahead of Buffalo. The University of Evansville and Florida Atlantic University round out the Sun Belt with 46 and 40 points.
The Cardinals began the first day of competition with a seventh place finish, third in the MAC, in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The Ball State team of sophomores Josh Young, Austin Laska, Ben Battjes and Jacob Morris clocked in with a time of 1:24.27.
Ball State's top finish in the 500-yard freestyle was freshman Mark Golden with a time of 4:39.11, which put him in 22nd place. In the 200-yard individual medley, senior Ryan Franklin took 35th with a time of 1:57.43.
Battjes recorded the best individual swimming performance of the day for Ball State with a 17th place finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.28.
In the 400-yard medley relay, the Ball State team of sophomore Adam Dale, Franklin, Morris and Battjes was disqualified.
In the final event, the 1-meter diving, senior Caleb Bye notched the Cardinals' best finish of the day with eighth place.
Competition continues at 11:30 a.m. and goes through Saturday in Nashville, Tenn.
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