Led by junior Leandro Schultz (Valley View, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights), the Valparaiso men’s cross country team took sixth place Friday afternoon at the Boston College Open in Boston, Mass.

The Crusaders totaled 186 points en route to their finish, using the depth in the middle of their lineup to defeat schools such as Rhode Island and Northeastern.  Syracuse took the team title with 37 points.

Schultz paced the Crusaders for the first time in his career, completing the 8K course in 26:01.  He was followed by Chris Honig (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard South [Indiana]), who came home 37^th with a time of 26:13.

Jim Turchyn (Batesville, Ind./Batesville) was the next-best Valpo finisher, crossing the line with a time of 26:57, good for 49^th place.  Jordan Stanfill (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) came in 51^st place with a time of 27:08 and Rich Krupar III (Elyria, Ohio/Midview) rounded out the Crusader scorers with a 54^th-place finish, coming home in 27:20.

Four Crusaders were running in the open race Friday at the Indiana Intercollegiates in West Lafayette, Ind.  Jared Snell (Hampton, Iowa/Hampton-Dumont) led the Crusaders in that race with a 46^th place finish.

Valparaiso returns to action in two weeks when the Crusaders head to Notre Dame, Ind. to race at the Notre Dame Invitational.

Junior Laura Rolf (Rochester, Mich./Lutheran Northwest) captured her second meet championship in as many weeks Friday afternoon at the Boston College Open in Boston, Mass., setting a new personal best in the 5K with a time of 17:14 to lead Valpo.

The Crusaders totaled 197 points for their seventh-place finish among the ten teams competing in the meet.  Syracuse totaled 62 points, edging out the host Eagles by two points to win the team title.

Rolf, the reigning Horizon League Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week, had a tougher challenge Friday than she did last weekend, when she captured the Crusader Open by over a minute.  But the junior was up to the task, defeating Syracuse’s Nana Sang Bender by two seconds and also leading runners from Providence, Oklahoma State and Wake Forest among the top-five.  Rolf’s time of 17:14 was the second-fastest in Crusader history, trailing Collette Liss’ best 5K time by just one second.

Rachael Button (Farmington Hills, Mich./Farmington) was the second Crusader to cross the line.  Button, who took second place in the Crusader Open last week to kick off the season, came home in 33^rd place with a time of 18:31.  She was followed by freshman Caitlin Sauerhage (Rising Sun, Ind./Rising Sun), who crossed the line with a time of 20:22, good for 71^st place.

Sophomore Alyssa Bradford (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) was the next Valpo runner to finish, coming in 77^th place in 20:53.  Rachel Howell (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) rounded out the Crusader scorers with a 79^th place finish, crossing the line in 21:00.

Valparaiso returns to action in two weeks when the Crusaders head to Notre Dame, Ind. to race at the Notre Dame Invitational.