Junior Eric Carothers (Fishers, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern) led the way for the Valparaiso University men’s cross country team, while senior Maranda Donahue (Delton, Mich. / Delton-Kellogg) clocked the best time for the women’s squad at Friday’s Missouri Valley Conference Championship, hosted by Illinois State at Weibring GC in Normal, Ill.

How It Happened

• Carothers led the Beacons in the conference championship meet for the second consecutive year, this time stopping the clock in 25:47.6 to place 31^st in the men’s 8K.
• Donahue owned the top Valpo showing in the women’s race, completing the 6K in a season-best time of 23:24.9. She improved her prior 6K time of 23:53.0 at the Illinois State Invite. Donahue’s finish put her in 51^st in the competitive Valley field.
• Donahue was followed closely by teammate Grace Aurand (Highland, Ind. / Highland). The sophomore stopped the clock in 23:33.5 to finish just three spots behind Donahue.
• The next two Valpo finishers in the women’s race were Brianna Splaine (Sussex, Wis. / Arrowhead) and Alaina Carpenter (Grandville, Mich. / Grandville), who clocked times of 24:15.4 and 24:23.0, respectively.
• In the men’s race, Carothers was followed by Simeon Ehm (Castle Rock, Colo. / Heritage), who came in 45^th with a time of 26:26.4. Evan Walda (Fort Wayne, Ind. / South Side) was the third Beacon to cross the finish at 26:42.1, then came Ignacio Veloz Bonilla (San Juan, P.R. / American Military Academy) at 27:03.0.

Up Next

Valpo will participate in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Evansville, Ind. on Friday, Nov. 12.