Valparaiso University cross country junior Karson Hollander (Crystal Lake, Ill. / Crystal Lake) joined an elite group of runners in the program's history to have earned first team all-conference status on Friday, securing the achievement based upon his top-10 finish in the men's 8k race at the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Championships hosted by Evansville at Angel Mounds Cross Country Course.
 
How It Happened

• Hollander crossed the finish line in 24:48.32, edging UIC's Alex Bacci by just over three seconds for the final spot in the top 10. Bradley's Jayde Rosslee won the race in 24:01.52.
• Hollander joins Alexander Bruno (2018 and 2019) and Eric Carothers (Spring 2021) as the only Valpo runners to earn First Team All-MVC status. He joins Bruno, Carothers, Nate Iben (Mid-Continent Conference, 1995) and Aaron Crauge (Mid-Con, 1999, 2000 and 2001) as the only five runners to earn first team all-conference honors in the program's Division-I history.
• Hollander has top-10 finishes in all five of his races this season.
• Senior Joseph Scheele (Mahomet, Ill. / Mahomet-Seymour) was second on the team with a time of 25:28.53, placing 31^st. He and Hollander were joined inside the top 50 in a 93-runner field by redshirt junior Alex Valerio (Rockford, Ill. / Boylan Catholic) and freshman Joey Yaros (Bloomington, Ill. / Normal Community).
• In the women's 6k race, redshirt sophomore Laetitia Raoult (Guingamp, France / [Florida International]) paced the team at 21:59.62, placing 29^th.
• Raoult was followed closely by freshman Samantha Rowley (Barrington, Ill. / Barrington) at 22:05.57 in 32^nd, while sophomore Kensington Black (Franklin, Ohio / Franklin Senior) was the third Beacon inside the top 50.
• The Braves swept the team and individual titles, with Kaitlyn Sheppard taking the top spot on the women's side in 20:48.73.
• The women placed ninth of 11, defeating Evansville and Southern Illinois. The men were eighth of 11, ahead of UNI, Southern Illinois and Murray State.
• The Valpo women had their best conference championship finish in terms of the number of teams they finished ahead of since the 2014 Horizon League Championship.

Up Next
The Beacons will compete in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, also hosted by Evansville, on Friday, Nov. 14.