A top-20 finish by sophomore Joey Yaros (Bloomington, Ind. / Normal Community) in the men's white 8k and a top-50 finish in the women's white 6k by Samantha Rowley paced the Valparaiso University cross country teams as they competed in the Indiana State Pre-Nationals on Friday in Terre Haute, Ind. This served as the final tune-up prior to the Missouri Valley Conference Championships, which will take place in two weeks.
 
How It Happened

• Yaros continued his solid season, placing 17^th in a 198-runner field with a time of 24:53.5.
• Freshman Matthew Russell (St. Charles, Ill. / St. Charles North) had a strong performance, finishing second on the team at 25:22.7 to place 54^th in the field.
• Four Beacon men finished in the top 100 in the race, and the top three were underclassmen (two freshmen and a sophomore). Freshman Nick Dul placed 95^th at 25:53.6, while junior Tyler Swartz (Warsaw, Ind. / Warsaw Community) rounded out the top-100 Beacons at 25:55.4, placing 97^th.
• Rowley led the women with a 45^th-place finish in a massive 282-runner field, turning in a time of 21:49 in the 6k.
• Redshirt junior Laetitia Raoult (Guingamp, France / Florida International) was the second Beacon to cross the finish line, coming in 69^th at 22:00.6.
• Redshirt senior Alina Worzella (Martinsville, Ind. / Martinsville) and freshman Elena Almonte (Superior, Wis. / Superior) were third and fourth on the team, respectively.
• As a team, Valpo placed 16^th of 24 on the women's side and 10^th of 21 on the men's side.

 
Up Next
The Beacons will compete in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships on Friday, Oct. 30 in Des Moines, Iowa.