The Valparaiso women's cross country team finished in 19th place at the Pre-NCAA Meet in Terre Haute, Ind. on Saturday afternoon, while also placing 29th at the Wisconsin-Parkside Invitational in Kenosha, Wis.

Valpo's top seven runners headed to Indiana State to compete on the course hosting the NCAA Championships next month. Rachel Nelson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit H.S.) led the Crusaders with a 66th place finish in a time of 22:45 over the six-kilometer course. Amanda Lee (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon H.S.) finished 16 spots back in 23:27.

Heidi Nathan (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford H.S.) finished 16 seconds behind Lee, while Rachel Stoehr (Antigo, Wis./Antigo H.S.) was another nine seconds back. Amy Mikel (Lemont, Ill./Fenwick H.S.) rounded out the scorers with a time of 24:05.

Five Crusaders also headed up to Wisconsin for a meet in Kenosha. Kelly Owens (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands H.S.) led Valpo with a time of 21:25 over five-kilometers, while Michelle Sexton (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Driscoll Catholic H.S.) was 25 seconds behind Owens. Dena Christoff (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South H.S.) was third for the Brown and Gold with a time of 22:33, while Tami McDunn (Farmington, Minn./Farmington H.S.) was fourth in 22:33. Laura Bingham (Woodstock, Ill./Woodstock H.S.) rounded out the Valpo line-up with a time of 22:50.

Valparaiso will take the week off before heading to the Mid-Continent Conference Championships in Indianapolis, Ind. on November 2.