The Valparaiso women’s cross country team was in action Friday afternoon at the Notre Dame Invitational, running to a 17th place finish in the Gold Race.

The Crusaders tallied 502 points on the day for their 17th place finish.  Grand Valley State took top team honors with 48 points, while UW-Oshkosh’s Ayla Mitchell was the first individual across the line.

Senior Lindsey Gilman (South Bend, Ind./Marian) led the Crusader women on Friday, running to a 78th place finish with a time of 19:25 over the 5K course.  She was followed closely by fellow senior Sara Christensen (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley), who placed 82nd, crossing the line in 19:28.

Senior Whitney Bowman (Portage, Ind./Portage [Purdue] crossed the line in 20:00 flat, good for 118th place, while senior Caitlin Sauerhage (Rising Sun, Ind./Rising Sun [Indiana]) followed in 129th position with a time of 20:13.  Senior Alyssa Bradford (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) closed out Valpo’s top-five runners with a time of 21:06, good for 150th place.

Valparaiso returns to action in two weeks, on Friday, October 16, as the Crusaders cross the state line to the west to compete in Peoria at the Bradley Classic.  The meet is slated for a 4:15 p.m. start.