The Valparaiso men’s and women’s cross country teams ran at the 59^th annual Notre Dame Invite on Friday. The men ran a five mile course, while the women ran a 5K.

Senior Jessica Richardson (Columbus, Ind./North) continued her spectacular season with another top-ten finish as she finished in 16:58.5 to claim sixth place. Her time is good for second best in Crusader history and beat her previous best by 53 seconds. She was just .2 seconds out of fifth place and was one of six women to finish in less than 17 minutes.

Sophomore Liz Bloy (Freedom, Wis./Freedom) crossed the finish line in 18:18.7 to wind up in 98^th place. Junior Dezzarae Arce (Orland Park, Ill./Victor J. Andrew) finished in 19:04.8 (162^nd) while sophomores Michelle Espino (Fort Wayne, Ind./North Side) and Tori Tamburrino (West Dundee, Ill./Jacobs) finished in 19:29.4 (180^th) and 19:39.9 (186^th), respectively, to round out the top five.

On the men’s side, senior David Rutkowski (Cedarburg, Wis./Living Word Luteran) led the Crusaders with a 25:56.9 to finish in 104^th place. Sophomore Adam Bruno (Bloomington, Ill./Normal) finished just behind Rutkowski in 114^th place with a time of 26:10.7.

Rounding out the Crusaders scorers were senior Michael Salguero (Ebensburg, Pa./Central Cambria), sophomore Max Morello (Plano, Ill./Plano), and sophomore Dan Walters (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) They finished in 26:40.5 (144^th), 27:00.00 (155^th), and 27:21.4 (166^th) respectively.

Both teams finished in 21^st place and finished ahead of Horizon League rival Green Bay in their groups.

Valpo returns to action in two weeks when they travel to Peoria, Ill. for the Bradley Invite. Race times are set for 3:00 and 3:45 pm CT, respectively.