Three Valpo runners finished in the top eight and sophomore Chris Honig (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard South) ran the fastest Crusader 8K in five years as the Brown and Gold came in second at the Evansville Invitational Saturday morning.

Honig, who has improved his 8K time in each race this season, crossed the tape in 25:27.05 Saturday, good for third place in the field of 89 runners. The finish was Honig's best of the season, and his time was the fastest run by a Crusader since Aaron Crague ran a school-record 24:55 in 2001.

Two other Valpo runners also finished in under 26:00 for the first time in their careers, led by sophomore Leandro Schultz (Valleyview, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) who finished seventh in 25:57.10. Classmate Jim Turchyn (Batesville, Ind./Batesville) was right behind Schultz in eighth, crossing in 25:57.51.

Adriano Schultz (Brecksville, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) ran a career-best 8K, covering the course in 26:38.13 and finishing in 20th place. Meanwhile, Rich Krupar (Elyria, Ohio/Midview) and Bryan Gill (Columbia City, Ind./Columbia City) also ran career-quick races, finishing in 31st and 41st place respectively.

Valpo will be back in action in two weeks at the Mid-Continent Conference Championships in Kansas City, Mo. October 28. The men's 8K race is scheduled to being at 11:00 a.m.

race results