Valparaiso University men’s cross country senior Evan Walda (Fort Wayne, Ind. / South Side) was recognized for his strong start to the season on Wednesday, when he was named Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Runner of the Week by the league office.

Walda stopped the clock in 18:04.6 in the men’s 6K at the season-opening Winrow Open, hosted by the Beacons on Friday evening at Sunset Hill Farm County Park. He placed third in the 60-runner field and was eclipsed by only two Notre Dame runners in a field that featured instate, power-conference foes Notre Dame and Purdue.

This marks Valpo’s first cross country Runner of the Week since joining the Missouri Valley Conference. The last Valpo cross country runner to earn a Runner of the Week award was Jessica Richardson, who achieved the feat three times in the Horizon League during the 2014 season. Valpo did earn a track & field weekly award in the distance category as recently as 2021, when Dominic Paoletti received the nod from the MVC.

The Beacons will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 15 at the Redbird Invite in Normal, Ill.