Led by sophomore Wally Bradford (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago), the Valparaiso men’s cross country team placed eighth Saturday at the Horizon League Championships in Chicago, Ill.

The Crusaders tallied 258 points for the eighth-place finish, beating out Green Bay.  Butler took the team championship with 22 points, while the Bulldogs’ Kris Gauson earned individual top honors with a time of 24:20.57.

Bradford ran a season-best 8K time to pace the Crusader contingent Saturday, covering the course in 27:18.81, good for 58th place.  Redshirt sophomore Patrick Johnson (Oil City, Pa./Cranberry [Monmouth]) was the second Valpo runner to cross the line, coming home in 61st place with a time of 27:29.13.

Junior Jordan Piaskowy (Crete, Ill./Illiana Christian) finished right behind Johnson, finishing in 27:29.77 to finish in 62nd place.  Junior Nick Fagan (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) was the fourth Crusader to finish on Saturday, placing 65th with a time of 27:35.21.  Senior Joel Hartenberger (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia) rounded out the Valpo top-five with a 70th-place finish, covering the 8K loop in 27:52.44.

Valparaiso closes out the 2010 campaign in two weeks at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Rochester, Mich.  Action on Saturday, November 13 is slated for a 9 a.m. CT start.