The Valparaiso men’s and women’s cross country teams were international travelers this weekend as they traveled to London, Ontario, Canada for the Western Invitational at Thames Valley Golf Course.

Senior Jessica Richardson (Columbus, Ind./North) paced the Crusader women with a 17:59 to finish third in the 5K. Sophomore Liz Bloy (Freedom, Wis./Freedom) finished in 21^st place with a 19:12.

Junior Dezzarae Arce (Orland Park, Ill./Victor J. Andrew) ran a 20:08 to finish in 55^th place, while classmate Hannah Schilling (Fraser, Mich./Lutheran North) and freshman Kim Heiny (Burnettsville, Ind./Twin Lakes) finished in 73^rd and 76^th place with times of 20:45 and 20:54, respectively, to round out the top five.

The women finished in eighth place overall.

In the men’s 8K race, senior David Rutkowski (Cedarburg, Wis./Living Word Lutheran) led the way with a 26:54 to finish in 25^th, while sophomore Adam Bruno (Bloomington, Ill./Normal) ran a 28:17 to finish in 64^th place.

The Crusaders were rounded out by senior Michael Salguero (Ebensburg, Pa./Central Cambria) in 68^th, sophomore Max Morello (Plano, Ill./Plano) in 71^st and freshman Sidney Noble (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan) in 75^th with times of 28:21, 28:22 and 28:28.

The men finished in 10^th place overall.

Western won the women’s title while McMaster won the men’s.

The Brown and Gold return to action in two weeks when they race in the Notre Dame Invite on October 3. Race time is scheduled for 1:00 and 1:45 pm CT.

-Valpo Cross Country-