Junior Joseph Scheele (Mahomet, Ill. / Mahomet-Seymour) shattered a program record and posted a top-20 finish to lead the Valparaiso University cross country team at Friday's Missouri Valley Conference Championship, hosted by UNI at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
 
How It Happened

• Scheele placed 20^th in an 89-runner field in the men's 8K race by stopping the clock in 24:04.8. He outdid his previous personal best by 35.3 seconds and displaced Evan Walda atop the program record book. Walda's record of 24:22.9 had stood since the Bradley Pink Classic on Oct. 13, 2023.
• Valpo's top time in the women's 6K came courtesy of redshirt freshman Laetitia Raoult (Giungamp, France). She crossed the finish in 21:44.5 to place 35^th of 99.
• The next four Beacon women to complete the race all established PRs, led by sophomore Vivian Rahmel (Springfield, Ill. / Sacred Heart-Griffin), whose time of 21:47.3 placed 38^th and ranks fourth in program history, behind Laura Rolf (2006), Jessica Richardson (2014) and Raoult's PR of 21:31.3 from earlier this season.
• Freshman Kensington Black (Franklin, Ohio / Franklin Senior) cracked the program record book as well, as she now ranks ninth in program history at 22:28.7.
• The other Valpo women to earn PRs were sophomore Amelia Tisdale (Franklin, Ind. / Franklin Community) at 24:37.3 and sophomore Eva Heimsoth (Ottawa, Ill. / Ottawa Township) at 25:29.6.
• Sophomore Karson Hollander (Crystal Lake, Ill. / Crystal Lake) was the second Beacon to finish in the men's race with a PR of 24:48.9 to place 45^th. He moved up to sixth in program history in the 8K.
• Valpo's top six runners on the men's side all attained PRs. Scheele and Hollander were followed by freshman Tim Jochum (Glen Ellyn, Ill. / Glenbard South) at 25:11.2, junior Brooks Julian (Olney, Ill. / Richland County [Southeastern]) at 25:22.3, freshman Tyler Swartz (Warsaw, Ind. / Warsaw Community) at 26:11.1 and freshman Ben Crombie (Lincoln, Ill. / Lincoln) at 27:13.0.
• As a team, the Valpo women finished 11^th at 287, while the men placed eighth at 229.

Up Next
The Beacons will participate in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, Nov. 15 in Akron, Ohio.