Saturday, October 18, 2003

With Valparaiso's men's cross country team facing many nationally-ranked teams on Saturday at the Pre-NCAA Meet in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Rick Wenger (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere H.S.) led the way for the Crusaders with a time of 26:28 over the eight-kilometer course.

The Crusaders as a team finished in 35th place in the competition, which was won by Stanford, with Iona finishing second.

Wenger finished in 214th place overall, while Christopher Orosz (Holland, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit H.S.) was just four spots back with a time of 26:39. Nate Nunnelly (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) finished third for the Brown and Gold with a time of 26:52.

Matt Blume (Logansport, Ind./Pioneer H.S.) finished 230th overall with a time of 27:31, while Adam Piaskowy (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee H.S.) rounded out Valpo's scorers with a time of 27:37, two places behind Blume.

Valparaiso will take two weeks off from competition, before heading to Tulsa, Okla. for the Mid-Continent Conference Championships held on November 1. The championships are hosted by Oral Roberts.