Valparaiso junior Laura Rolf (Rochester, Mich./Lutheran Northwest) was named the Horizon League women’s cross country Athlete of the Year today.  Rolf finished the season with five victories in seven races, including a winning effort at the Horizon League Championship.

The junior becomes just the second Crusader runner to win league Athlete of the Year honors, joining Collette Liss, who earned the Mid-Continent Conference’s top honor in 1996.  Rolf earned Horizon League Athlete of the Week honors three times on the season, after victories at the Crusader Invitational, Boston College Open and the Notre Dame Invitational.  She also took top honors at the Evansville Invitational, setting a new Valpo record in the 5K by completing the course in 16:40.33, before crossing the line first at the Horizon League Championship.

Rolf placed sixth at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional this season, the second straight year she has finished in the top-ten at the regional meet.  She earned All-Region accolades for the third consecutive season, and earned a repeat at-large berth to the NCAA Cross Country Championship.  At the national meet, Rolf placed 48^th out of a field of 253 runners, her second straight top-50 finish at the NCAA Championship.