Valparaiso University men’s cross country senior Evan Walda (Fort Wayne, Ind. / South Side) added to his breakout fall in a big way on Friday afternoon, shattering the program record in the 10K at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, hosted by Wisconsin in Madison, Wis. Walda led a trio of Beacons who all outdid the previous program record on Friday and now own the top three times in program history.

How It Happened

• Walda posted a record-setting 10K time of 31:13.1, finishing 65^th in a competitive field of over 200 runners. He bettered his previous time of 32:19.2 at the 2022 NCAA Regional and shattered Alexander Bruno’s program record of 31:54.5 that had stood since 2018.
• Walda was followed closely by Simeon Ehm (Castle Rock, Colo. / Heritage), who finished 72^nd in 31:19.8. Ehm’s time ranks second in program history as it also outdid Bruno’s mark that was the program record before Friday.
• Valpo’s top trio in the men’s 10K also included Joseph Scheele (Mahomet, Ill. / Mahomet-Seymour), who checked in 83^rd at 31:28.4. He now ranks third in program history as his time was also ahead of the former record.
• Freshman Karson Hollander (Crystal Lake, Ill. / Crystal Lake) was fourth on the team at 32:59.9.
• The Valpo men finished 20^th in a competitive 30-team field, beating Kent State, Ohio, Purdue Fort Wayne, Green Bay, Wright State, Bowling Green, Milwaukee, Marquette, Central Michigan and Detroit Mercy.  
• The Valpo women were led by Grade Aurand (Highland, Ind. / Highland) in the 6K, as she stopped the clock in 22:24.3.
• Freshman Lauren Wroza (Rochester, Mich. / Rochester) was the second Beacon to cross the finish line, completing the race in 23:07.4.
• The next two Valpo women to finish were Alina Worzella (Martinsville, Ind. / Martinsville) in 24:07.3 and Vivian Rahmel (Springfield, Ill. / Sacred Heart-Griffin) in 24:09.0.
• The Valpo women finished 29^th, defeating Detroit Mercy, Marquette and Cleveland State.