Crusaders Return to Action at Notre Dame
Friday, October 3, 2008
The Valparaiso women’s cross country team returned to action Friday afternoon at the Notre Dame Invitational, finishing in 17th place in the gold race.

The Crusaders totaled 452 points among their five scoring runners for the 17th-place showing.  Michigan State won the team championship with 76 points.

Laura Rolf (Rochester, Mich./Lutheran Northwest) paced the Valpo contingent, placing 22nd with a time of 18:16 over the 6K course.  Sara Christensen (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) was the next Crusader across the finish line, coming home in 19:25, good for 111th place.

Lindsey Gilman (South Bend, Ind./Marian) finished the race in 19:34, finishing 118th, while Alyssa Bradford (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) placed 127th with a time of 19:44.  Whitney Bowman (Portage, Ind./Portage [Purdue]) rounded out the Crusader scorers with a time of 19:45 to finish 129th.

Valparaiso returns to action in two weekends at the NCAA Pre-Nationals, hosted by Indiana State in Terre Haute.  The women’s race is slated for a 10 a.m. CDT start time.