Paced by a third-place finish from Chris Honig (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard South [Indiana]), the Valparaiso men’s cross country squad finished third Friday afternoon as it hosted the 20th annual Crusader Invitational at Sunset Hills Farm.

Valpo ended the meet with 75 points, good for its third-place showing.  Horizon League foe Loyola claimed five of the top eight finishers en route to the team title with 22 points.

Honig covered the 6K course in 19:39, just eight seconds behind the individual champion, Danny Docherty of Loyola.  Rich Krupar (Elyria, Ohio/Midview) was the next Crusader across the finish line, as the senior placed 17th with a time of 20:25.

Krupar was immediately followed by two more Valpo runners, as Leandro Schultz (Valley View, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) finished 18th in 20:31 and Joel Hartenberger (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia) crossed the line in 20:34 for 19th position.  Rounding out the scoring runners for the Crusaders was freshman Tyler Toll (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte), who registered a time of 20:44 for a 22nd-place finish in his first collegiate meet.

Valparaiso returns to action in two weeks, heading to Indiana University to take part in the Indiana Intercollegiates on Friday, Sept. 19 at 3 p.m. CDT.