The Valparaiso University cross country team began the 2024 season with the program’s annual home meet, the Winrow Valparaiso Open, on Friday morning at Sunset Hill Farm County Park in Valparaiso. Laetitia Raoult (Guingamp, France / Florida International) made a strong first impression in her Valpo debut, leading the way for the Beacons.

How It Happened

• Raoult was the first Valpo woman to cross the finish line in the 5K race, clocking a time of 18:20.6 that narrowly missed a spot in the program’s all-time top five. Her favorable first impression was good for eighth overall in a competitive 73-runner, nine-team field. The seven that finished in front of her featured three from Notre Dame, two from Purdue, one from Butler and one from Western Michigan.
• The next-best Beacon in the women’s race was Vivian Rahmel (Springfield, Ill. / Sacred Heart-Griffin), whose time of 20:11.80 was 48^th in the field. Freshman Ally Higbee (Oconomowoc, Wis. / Oconomowoc) rounded out the team’s top three at 20:29.5.
• In the men’s 6K, junior Joseph Scheele (Mahomet, Ill. / Mahomet-Seymour) paced the team and finished inside the top 20, placing 19^th with a time of 18:53.4, a nice improvement from his time of 19:17.9 in this same race last season.
• Sophomore Karson Hollander (Crystal Lake, Ill. / Crystal Lake) followed Scheele, finishing 22^nd at 19:05.6.
• Newcomers Tyler Swartz (Warsaw, Ind. / Warsaw Community) and Brooks Julian (Olney, Ill. / Richland County [Southeastern]) finished third and fourth on the team, respectively. Swartz went under 20 minutes in his first collegiate race at 19:58.4, while Julian was just over at 20:01.9.

Up Next

The Beacons will hit the road for the first time this season by visiting Illinois State for the Redbird Invite on Sept. 13 in Normal, Ill.