Saturday, November 13, 2010

The Valparaiso women's cross country team finished ahead of three fellow Horizon League squads on Saturday afternoon as the Crusaders closed out the 2010 season at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Rochester, Mich.

Valpo totaled 905 points on Saturday to finish in 30th place, coming in ahead of Cleveland State, Detroit and Green Bay.  Michigan State captured the team championship, while the Spartans' Emily MacLeod earned individual top honors.

Fifth-year senior Whitney Bowman (Portage, Ind./Portage [Purdue]) led the Crusaders in the final race of her cross country career, placing 164th with a time of 23:49.45 over the 6K circuit.  Freshman Claire Johnson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) followed shortly behind Bowman, covering the course in 23:54.73, good for a 169th place finish.

Freshman Nicole Zehel (Wixom, Mich./Lutheran Westland) was the third Valpo runner to finish Saturday, crossing the line in 24:13.52 to finish in 182nd place.  Fifth-year senior Kelsey Stueland (Tipton, Iowa/Tipton Community [Iowa]) registered a time of 24:24.34 to place 187th, while freshman Grace Shemwell (Clinton, Iowa/Clinton) rounded out Valpo's top-five runners with a 215th place showing, finishing with a time of 25:26.18.  Sophomore Haley Kerlin (Rensselaer, Ind./Rensselaer) and freshman Grace Watkins (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates) also competed for the Crusaders Saturday.