Led by Laura Rolf's (Rochester, Mich./Lutheran Northwest H.S.) 12th place effort, Valparaiso earned an 11th place finish as a team in the gold division of the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday afternoon in South Bend, Ind.

Rolf turned in a time of 18:15 over the five-kilometer course and was just three seconds away from finishing in the top-ten.

As a team, the Crusaders earned 295 points while Michigan won the race with just 60 points in the field of 24 schools.

Rachael Button (Farmington Hills, Mich./Farmington H.S.) finished second for Valpo and was 47th overall with a time of 19:03 while Jobeth Schmiesing (Mankato, Minn./West H.S.) was 60th just six seconds behind Button.

Danielle Nunnelly (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) crossed the finish line in 68th place with a time of 19:13 while Lisa Schroeck (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) rounded out the scorers with a time of 19:51, finishing 110th.

Valpo will return to action in two weeks as the Crusaders race at the Evansville Invitational on October 15. The gun will fire at 11 a.m.