The Valparaiso University men’s cross country team split into two groups this weekend, as some Crusaders stayed closer to home at the Gil Dodds Invitational in Warrenville, Ill., while most of the squad traveled to San Diego, Calif. for the USD Invite. The Crusaders finished fifth as a team in San Diego, while the men finished 12th at the Gil Dodds Invite. The women’s team traveled along to California for the USD Invite as well, garnering a sixth-place finish.

How It Happened

• Leading the way for the Crusader men to their fifth-place finish at San Diego was sophomore Alexander Bruno (Bloomington, Ill./University), crossing the finish line 19^th overall out of 66 runners at the event with a time of 26:26 over the 8K course.
• Senior Dan Walters (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) and freshman Victor Fortin (East Peoria, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) followed up Bruno with times of 26:42 and 26:44, good for 26th and 27th place, respectively.
• For the women’s squad, junior Kim Heiny (Burnettsville, Ind./Twin Lakes) earned a top-20 finish, crossing the line in 23:33.
• Two-time All-Horizon League honoree Liz Owen (Freedom, Wis./Freedom) finished 27th as she covered the circuit with a time of 24:01, while senior Tori Tamburrino (West Dundee, Ill./Jacobs) posted a time of 24:32, good for 32nd place.
• Freshman Will Michener (Evergreen, Colo./Evergreen) paved the way for the Valpo men at the Gil Dodds Invitational, earning the team’s highest spot at the meet.

Next Up

Both teams take a short break from competition and race again on Friday, Sept. 30 at the Notre Dame Invitational. The meet is slated to begin at 1 p.m. CT.