Valpo faced off with some of North America's top collegiate teams Friday afternoon at the Notre Dame Invitational Gold Race, placing 19th out of 25 squads and watching their top four finishers achieve personal-best 8K times.

Chris Honig (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard South) again paced Valpo, finishing 53rd in 26:01. Honig, a sophomore transfer from Indiana, has been the top Crusader runner in each of the season's first three races, running a personal-best 8K Friday.

The next Crusader to cross was fellow sophomore Jim Turchyn (Batesville, Ind./Batesville) who crossed in 26:41, also a personal-best, 19 seconds faster than the 8K he ran at last season's Crusader Invitational.

Leandro Schultz (Valleyview, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) made it three Crusaders to card personal bests, finishing in 26:50, 18 seconds quicker than his previous fast time.

Most impressive Friday, however, may have been junior Josh Parker (Roselle, Ill./Lake Park). After never breaking 28:00 in his first two seasons, Parker nearly ran sub-27, finishing in 27:00 even, 1:02 faster than the career-best time he ran two weeks ago at the Indiana Intercollegiates.

The Crusaders will have two more weeks off before their next race, October 14 at the Evansville Invitational. The men's 8K is scheduled to begin at 11:45 a.m.

race results