The Missouri State men's swimming and diving team is in third place after day one of the Sun Belt Conference championship. Defending champions Western Kentucky holds the lead with 182 points, followed by Southern Illinois with 178 points, MSU with 164 points, Denver with 144, Florida Atlantic with 79 and Evansville is in sixth with 61 points.

Victor Serra won the 200 individual medley, giving the Bears their first win of the night. His time of 1:50.09 set a new Sun Belt Conference record.

Missouri State set another conference record in the 400 medley relay. Eduardo Pajares, Greg Temple, Serra, and Ignacio Gayo recorded a time of 3:17.77. The time also marks a new school record.

Another top finish for Missouri State was a close second-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. The foursome of Serra, Andrew Denefe, Josh Udermann and Gayo combined for a time of 1:22.02, finishing only .38 of a second behind SIU, but edging Western Kentucky by just .07 of a second.

The conference championship continues Friday, Feb. 16, in Nashville, Tenn. Preliminary events are set to begin at 10:30 a.m.