The Valparaiso men’s cross country team saw its top three runners finish within 17 seconds of each as the Crusader men concluded the 2012 season at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Madison, Wis. on Friday, finishing in 27^th place.

Valpo totaled 807 points for the meet to finish in 27^th position, beating out fellow Horizon League squad Green Bay.  Host Wisconsin captured the team title with 43 points, while the Badgers’ Mohammed Ahmed earned top individual honors.

The Crusaders were led on Friday by junior Mike Salguero (Ebensburg, Pa./Central Cambria), who paced Valpo for the first time this year by covering the 10K course in 34:21, good for 146^th place.  Just seven seconds behind Salguero was sophomore David Rutkowski (Cedarburg, Wis./Living Word Lutheran), who ran to a 150^th place finish in a time of 34:28.  Junior Matt Przybyla (Whitmore Lake, Mich./Pinckney) came home in 159^th position, crossing the line in 34:38.

Sophomore Eric Hickok (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) was the fourth Crusader to cross the finish line on Friday, completing the circuit in an even 35:00, good for 168^th place.  Rounding out Valpo’s top-five scoring runners was sophomore Trace Ostergren (LaPorte, Ind./Culver Academy), who finished in 184^th place with a time of 35:44.