The Valparaiso University men's and women's cross country teams began the 2025 season with the Winrow Open, the program's annual home meet, on Friday evening, which featured sunny, crisp weather and ideal racing conditions at Sunset Hill Farm County Park in Valparaiso. Six total Beacon men (five officially with one competing unattached) went under 19 minutes in the 6k, believed to be the first time in program history that occurred at the annual season opener. That group was led by junior Karson Hollander (Crystal Lake, Ill. / Crystal Lake), while freshman Samantha Rowley led the way in the women's 5k.
 
How It Happened

• Hollander stopped the clock in 18:23.21, a solid improvement from his 2024 race, when he went 19:05.6. He not only led the Beacons on Friday, but also achieved a top-10 finish while racing against the likes of instate power-conference foes Purdue and Notre Dame.
• The program record holder in both the 8k and 10k distances, Joseph Scheele (Mahomet, Ill. / Mahomet-Seymour) ran this race unattached and finished in 18:43.39, 10 seconds better than his 2024 time. He finished 14^th in the field, leading a tight pack of Beacons in back of Hollander.
• Redshirt junior Alex Valerio (Rockford, Ill. / Boylan Catholic) at 18:47.21, freshman Braden Hoff (New Lenox, Ill. / Lincoln-Way Central) at 18:50.69, sophomore Tim Jochum (Glen Ellyn, Ill. / Glenbard South) at 18:50.88 and freshman Joey Yaros (Bloomington, Ill. / Normal Community) at 18:51.70 were all under the 19-minute barrier. Valerio and Jochum both made big improvements from a year ago.
• The team had previously had no more than three runners go under 19-minutes in a given 6k in recent years.
• Rowley finished 16^th in the race and was the first Beacon across the line in her collegiate debut, posting a 5k time of 18:46.58.
• Junior Vivian Rahmel (Springfield, Ill. / Sacred Heart-Griffin) was the second Valpo runner at 19:56.31, followed by junior Lauren Wroza (Rochester, Mich. / Rochester) at 20:04.02. Rahmel improved her time from last season's opening meet.
• Notre Dame topped the team scoring on both the men's and women's sides. Unattached member of the Fighting Irish Benji Anderson won the men's race in 17:44.61, while another unattached Notre Dame runner Rosie Mucharsky was the champ in the women's 5k.
• A large number of supporters turned out to watch the meet. An alumni 5k race kicked off Friday's festivities and was won by Eric Carothers at 15:43.68, under three seconds ahead of his former teammate Simeon Ehm.

Up Next
The Beacons will race again in two weeks at Western Michigan's George Dales Invite on Friday, Sept. 19 in Kalamazoo, Mich.