The Valparaiso University men’s and women’s cross country teams ran in the 2016 Horizon League Championships Saturday in Parkside, Wis. The Crusader men and women both finished in ninth place, led by the respective runs from seniors Adam Bruno (Bloomington, Ill./University) and Elizabeth Owen (Freedom, Wis./Freedom).

How It Happened

• Bruno paved the way for the men’s squad with a time of 27:09.5, crossing the line 31^st. The senior placed 31 spots ahead of his performance last year at the league championships and trimmed 11 seconds off of his time.
• Freshman Victor Fortin (East Peoria, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) and senior Max Morello (Plano, Ill./Plano) finished side-by-side, with the rookie tallying 42^nd place and the latter placing 43^rd. Martin ran a time of 27:29.4, while Morello crossed the line in 27:29.7.
• Senior Dan Walters (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) and freshman Connor Parrell (Brighton, Mich./Brighton) rounded out the Crusaders’ team score with respective finishes of 52nd place (27:48.7) and 54th place (27:53.7).
• On the women’s side, Owen just missed earning All-League honors for the third straight year by 11 seconds, as she placed 20th with a time of 23:08.7.
• The second runner to cross the line for the Crusaders was junior Kim Heiny (Burnettsville, Ind./Twin Lakes), who picked up 32^nd place as she ran a 23.33.4 – erasing 10 seconds off from the race a year ago. Senior Tori Tamburrino (West Dundee, Ill./Jacobs) finished 45^th (24:28.9), improving her 2015 performance by 25 places.
• Freshmen Kate Mitchell (Algonquin, Ill./Huntley) and Nicole Berneche (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West) rounded out Valpo’s top-five runners contributing to the team score. Mitchell finished in 68th position with a time of 25:46.7, while Berneche placed 76th with a time of 26:17.3.

Next Up

The Crusaders are back in action on November 11^th, as they travel to Madison Wis., to take part in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.