The Valparaiso University men's and women's cross country teams continued their seasons on Friday with the women's 6k and men's 8k at the George Dales Invite, hosted by Western Michigan at the Prairies Golf Club in Kalamazoo, Mich. Junior Karson Hollander (Crystal Lake, Ill. / Crystal Lake) finished third in the men's 8k, moving into the program's all-time top 5.
 
How It Happened

• In the women's 6k, the first Beacon to cross the finish line was freshman Samantha Rowley (Barrington, Ill. / Barrington), who paced the team for the second straight race. After leading the way in the 5k at the season-opening home meet, she ran a 22:48.1 in her first collegiate 6k.
• Narrowly behind Rowley was redshirt sophomore Laetitia Raoult (Guingamp, France / [Florida International]), who made her season debut with a time of 22:51.0.
• Junior Vivian Rahmel (Springfield, Ill. / Sacred Heart Griffin) was the third Beacon to cross the finish line, stopping the clock at 24:01.6.
• Running unattached, Chante Dixon had a top-20 finish at 22:08.2, placing 19^th.
• Ohio took the top spot in the women's race, led by individual champion Allie Martin at 21:02.8.
• Hollander's top-3 finish came with a time of 24:47.5, behind only champion Owen Pukys of Dayton (24:30.8) and runner-up Wesley Hollowell of Oakland (24:41.2). Hollander set a new personal standard, bettering his previous best of 24:48.9 from the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Championship that already ranked sixth in program history.
• Hollander's time allowed him to usurp Simeon Ehm (24:48.3, 2022 Bradley Pink Classic) for fifth in program history.
• Redshirt junior Alex Valerio (Rockford, Ill. / Boylan Catholic), who posted a time of 25:49.8 to place 25^th, was the second-best Beacon.
• Freshman Joey Yaros (Bloomington, Ill. / Normal Community) was third on the team, posting a time of 25:58.7 in his first collegiate 8k, finishing 29^th.
• Oakland took the team title on the men's side.

Up Next
The season continues on Friday, Oct. 3 at the Notre Dame Joe Piane Invite.