An annual staple is back to begin the 2025 Valparaiso University cross country season as the Beacons will host the Winrow Valparaiso Open on Friday at Sunset Hill Farm County Park.
 
The festivities will begin with an alumni 5k at 4 p.m. before the collegiate races get going at 5 p.m. with the women's 5k, followed by the men's 6k at 5:45. The Beacons will welcome instate, power-conference foes Notre Dame and Purdue for this year's meet.
 
"This is one of my favorite meets of the year," Valpo Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Vincent Walker said. "There's nothing better than opening the season at home and defending your castle. Being able to start the season at a course that we've worked out on quite a bit takes some of the pressure away. It's special to have Power-4 schools that come to our facility year after year; that speaks volumes to the meet we put on. We take a lot of pride in showing them that we can compete at a high level. We're excited to have some of our alumni back and give them the chance to meet our current student-athletes."
 
The women's team features four freshmen – Isabella Valencia, Katie Sell, Samantha Rowley and Vanessa Parsons and one transfer – Lauren Guiley – to go along with returners like sophomore Kensington Black, junior Eva Heimsoth, sophomore Ally Higbee, junior Vivian Rahmel, redshirt sophomore Laetitia Raoult, junior Amelia Tisdale, senior Alina Worzella and junior Lauren Wroza.
 
"We're excited about some of our freshmen," Walker said. "Samantha Rowley has come out of the gates swinging; she's surprised some people with her workouts and time trials, so she's someone to look for as an impact player for the program."
 
Speaking of impact, Raoult made an immediate one last season, posting the second-fastest 6k and ninth-fastest 5k in program history during her first year donning the brown and gold. Rahmel and Black also posted all-time top 10 times in the 6k a year ago.
 
"Laetitia was the big show last year, knocking on the door of our school records as a newcomer," Walker said. "She has some really big goals this year in terms of being all-region and trying to take down the 6k school record. Vivian had a really breakout season last year and surprised herself at the conference championship. She'll pick up right where she left off. We've got the pieces in motion to make a big jump at the conference and regional level this year."
 
The men welcome in freshmen Camden Goddard, Braden Hoff and Joey Yaros. Goddard is expected to redshirt after suffering an injury, while the remaining two rookies will compete in Year 1.
 
"On the men's side, we've always had a very tight three or four, but struggled to find that fifth person to put it all together," Walker said. "This year, we've brought in some great freshmen. Joey and Braden competed against each other in high school. Both guys are going to have no issue transitioning to the 8k after running 5k in high school."
 
Seniors Brooks Julian, Marek Potuznik and Joseph Scheele are back on the roster, while the junior class features Alejando Chaves, Karson Hollander, Noah Meacham and Alex Valerio. A sophomore trio of Parker Dietrick, Tim Jochum and Tyler Swartz rounds out the roster.
 
Scheele set program records in both the 8k and 10k a year ago, while Hollander had a breakout year that featured top-10 times in both distances as well.
 
"It will be fun to see how much Joseph has progressed throughout the year and to see if he can get down to the 23-minute world in the 8k," Walker said. "Karson has learned how to handle the higher mileage better; he's someone to watch for who could be top-15 or top 20 at the conference championship. Tim had a breakout race at conference and was just outside of our top 10 last fall before making an MVC final during track season. He's a dark horse going into the season, while Noah and Alex both made a big jump in their training this summer. They're going to be big deciding factors in the success of the program this year."