Elmhurst, Ill. (Jan. 15, 2004) ???C With the first half of the 2003-04 school year complete, Oakland University has taken the lead in the race for the Mid-Continent Conference Commissioner???s Cup, as well as for the Men???s All Sports Award and the Dr. Helen Smiley Women???s All Sports Award. The Golden Grizzlies enjoy a 2.5 point lead over Western Illinois and Valparaiso for the Men???s and Women???s All Sports Awards, respectively. They also lead Western Illinois by 10.5 points in the Commissioner???s Cup standings. Oakland enjoyed a terrific first semester of competition, which included four first-place and two second-place finishes. After both the men???s and women???s cross country teams finished second at their 2003 championships, the men???s soccer team tied for first in the final league standings, the women???s soccer team won its regular-season crown outright, and the men???s and women???s swimming and diving squads swept their championships. Western Illinois sits in second place and is on Oakland???s heels in the Men???s All Sports Award standings thanks to a second-place finish in the swimming and diving championship and third-place finishes in men???s soccer and men???s cross country. Valparaiso ranks just behind Oakland in the Women???s All Sports Award standings, mostly due to the Crusaders??? regular-season title in volleyball and a third-place finish at the cross country championship. The All Sports Awards are given annually to the member institution that accumulates the most points in relationship to placement in conference sponsored championships, while the Commissioner???s Cup is given to the institution that collects the most combined points between its men???s and women???s athletic programs. The women???s award is named for former Western Illinois Director of Athletics Dr. Helen Smiley, who headed up that athletic program from 1994-2001. Men???s All-Sports Standings Oakland 25.5 Western Illinois 22 IUPUI 17 Valparaiso 16 UMKC 12.5 Southern Utah 9 Oral Roberts 8 Centenary 4 Chicago State 3 Smiley Women???s All-Sports Standings Oakland 29.5 Valparaiso 27 IUPUI 23 Western Illinois 22.5 Oral Roberts 19 Southern Utah 13 UMKC 9.5 Centenary 9 Chicago State 7.5 Commissioner???s Cup Standings Oakland 55 Western Illinois 44.5 Valparaiso 43 IUPUI 40 Oral Roberts 27 UMKC 26 Southern Utah 22 Centenary 13 Chicago State 10.5