The Valparaiso University men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in their final race of the 2019 campaign Friday in Madison, Wis. at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. Dominic Paoletti (Monroe, Mich./ Monroe St. Mary), Jack Worman (Hanover Parks, Ill./ Hoffman Estates) and Ignacio Veloz Bonilla (San Juan, P.R./ American Military Academy) joined Alexander Bruno (Bloomington, Ill./ University) on the list of the program’s best 10K times.

How It Happened

• Bruno, a fifth-year senior, paced the men’s squad with a 62^nd-place finish in a field of 200 runners. His time of 31:56.2 was among the fastest 10K times in Valpo history, less than two seconds behind Bruno’s school record of 31:54.4 at the 2018 Great Lakes Regional.
• Paoletti capped off an impressive junior campaign with a 98^th-place time of 32:41.5. The time marks not only Paoletti’s career best, but also the fourth-best time ever for a Valpo runner as he surpasses Adam Bruno’s and David Rutkoski’s time of 32:53 set at the 2014 NCAA Regional.
• Worman’s time of 33:12.0 supplanted Adam Piaskowy’s 33:15.1 from the 2004 NCAA Regional and is now the seventh-best time for Valpo. Not to be outdone, Veloz Bonilla recorded a time of 33:23.1 to leapfrog Jon Schiemann’s time of 33:25.5 from the 1999 NCAA Regional and move into 10^th place all-time.
• Senior Victor Fortin (East Peoria, Ill./ Peoria Notre Dame) finished his cross country career with a time of 34:56.6 in the 10K race.
• Alaina Carpenter (Grandville, Mich./ Grandville) led the women’s team for the second straight meet, coming across with a time of 23:01.0.
• Seniors Katherine Germann (Cincinnati, Ohio/ Finneytown) and Taylor Justison (Catham, Ill./ Glenwood) finished their cross country careers with 6K times of 23:27.8 and 24:10.7, respectively.

Inside the Meet

• Bruno closed the book on one of the most storied cross country careers in school history. In addition to holding Valpo’s top times in both the 8K and 10K, Bruno is also just the second runner to earn all-conference honors in multiple seasons, doing so in 2018 and 2019 and joining Aaron Crague (1999-2001, Mid-Con First Team). These accolades come addition to his four scholar-athlete awards for track and field and cross country.
• Germann also finished a decorated career in cross country, as the senior holds the program’s seventh-best time in the 5K and the sixth-best time in the 6K.

Thoughts from Head Coach Mike Straubel 

 "The course at the University of Wisconsin was muddy and slow, so
I was very surprised to see the big PRs from Dominic, Jack, and
Ignacio. They have had a good season, getting faster and faster.
Overall, the meet was a mixed bag. Because we are running better, both
the women and the men, we are aiming higher, and we were a bit
disappointed at not finishing higher. But we have to be happy with the
PRs and the hard running.  It is a good thing that we are aiming
higher, and it bodes well for the years to come. The guys are running
faster and we are growing as a team. Now we get ready for a good track
season. I expect a lot of fast times and school records in the track
season from this group of team members."