The Valparaiso women’s cross country team returned to action Friday at the Indiana Intercollegiates in Bloomington, Ind., placing eighth out of the 21 squads competing at the meet.

The Crusaders combined for 220 points for their eighth-place finish.  Purdue totaled 45 points to take home the team championship.

Laura Rolf (Rochester, Mich./Lutheran Northwest) led Valpo on Friday, crossing the line in 16th place with a time of 19:08 over the five-kilometer course.  Sara Christensen (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) was the next Crusader to finish, completing the race in 19:54, good for 41st position.

Lindsey Gilman (South Bend, Ind./Marian) finished in 47th place for Valpo with a time of 20:06, while Alyssa Bradford (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) placed 54th, covering the course in 20:19.  Whitney Bowman (Portage, Ind./Portage [Purdue]) closed out the Crusader scorers with a 75th-place finish, crossing the line in 20:51.

Valparaiso returns to the course in two weeks, traveling east on the Indiana Toll Road to Notre Dame, Ind. on Friday, Oct. 3 to run in the Notre Dame Invitational.