The Valparaiso men's cross country team split in half on Saturday afternoon in the Crusaders final tune-up for the Mid-Continent Conference Championships.

The top seven runners went to Indiana State to compete in the Pre-NCAA Meet that was held on the course hosting the NCAA Championships later this fall.

The Crusaders finished in 17th place with 402 points, while Central Michigan won the race with just 97.

Matt Blume (Logansport, Ind./Pioneer H.S.) led the Valpo attack with a 63rd place finish in a time of 26:05. Dennis Kabara (Chuka, Kenya/Mero H.S.) and Doug Brown (Lima, Ohio/Allen East H.S.) finished second and third for the Brown and Gold, placing 107th and 112th respectively. Kabara crossed the finish line in 26:25, while Brown was five seconds behind. Adam Piaskowy (Crete, Ill./Crete Monee H.S.) finished fourth in 147th place with a time of 26:50, while Jon Schiemann (Hemlock, Mich./Valley Lutheran H.S.) was the fifth Valpo finisher in 27:37.

Valpo also competed at the Wisconsin-Parkside Invitational in Kenosha, Wis. on Saturday. The Crusader men finished in 23rd place with 624 points.

David Wheeler (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East H.S.) led the Brown and Gold with a 128th place finish in a time of 27:50. Chad Lincoln (Machesney, Ill./Harlem H.S.) was second, finishing 150th in 28:02. Kyle Jones (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) was the third across the line for Valpo with a time of 28:34, while Jed Reisetter (Lewiston, Minn./Lewiston-Altura H.S.) was 25 seconds behind. David Iott (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger H.S.) rounded out the Valpo scorers with a time of 29:23.

The Crusaders will take a week off before competing in the conference championships on Nov. 2 in Indianapolis, Ind. IUPUI is the meet's host.