Friday, September 06, 2002

Valparaiso University junior Elizabeth Whiting (Parma, Mich./Western H.S.) won the Crusader Invitational on Friday afternoon, completing the six-kilometer course in 22:54 to lead the Crusaders to a second place finish in their season opener.

Whiting ran away with the women's title, defeating runner-up Sarah Hinkley of Western Michigan by 24 seconds, the fastest 6K mark in school history.

Valpo placed second as a team with 40 total points, behind Western Michigan. The Broncos tallied just 24 points as a team to claim the title, while Wisconsin-Green Bay (94 points) was third, followed by IPFW, DePaul, and Chicago State.

Rachel Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit H.S.) was the second Crusader across the finish line, placing fourth overall with a time of 23:27. Rachel Stoehr finished seventh overall and third for the Brown and Gold with a time of 24:08. Freshman Jobeth Schmiesing (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West H.S.) finished 11th (24:36), while Amanda Lee (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon H.S.) was 20th (25:39) to complete the Valpo scorers.

The Crusaders will take next weekend off before returning to action on Sept. 20 when they travel to Bloomington, Ind. for the Indiana Intercollegiate Championships.