Crusaders Announce 2016 Cross Country Schedule
Valparaiso cross country head coach Mike Straubel announced today the Crusaders’ schedule for the upcoming 2016 season, featuring the season-opening Crusader Open.
The Crusader Open will be contested for the 28th time in 2016, and for the 23rd straight year it will serve as Valpo’s season-opening meet. Action at Sunset Hills Farm on Friday, Sept. 2 begins at 5 p.m. with the women’s race, set for five kilometers, while the men’s 6K will follow at 5:45 p.m.
Two weeks later, the Valpo squad will split up for a pair of races, as some Crusaders will head to San Diego on Sept. 17 for the USD Invite, while others will run at the Gil Dodds Invitational in Warrenville, Ill., hosted by Wheaton College. On Sept. 30, the Crusaders will head east on the toll road to run at the Notre Dame Invitational, while Valpo’s final tuneup comes on Oct. 14 as it travels to Peoria, Ill. to cover the course at the Bradley Classic.
With four races under their belts, the Crusaders will aim to be peaking for the 2016 Horizon League Championships, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 29 in Kenosha, Wis. The NCAA Great Lakes Regional is slated to be run Friday, Nov. 11 in Madison, Wis.
Valpo Bowling Earns NTCA Individual, Team Academic Honors
Five members of the Valparaiso University bowling team earned All-Academic recognition from the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) for the 2015-16 campaign, while the Crusaders also earned academic honors as a team from the NTCA. The Crusaders have had at least three bowlers honored each year of the program’s existence.
Juniors Savannah Carr (Buckeye, Ariz./Younger) and Alyssa Meade (Chesterfield, Mich./L'Anse Creuse North) each earned All-Academic honors for a third straight season, an honor awarded to bowlers who maintain at least a 3.4 grade point average for the academic year. In addition, graduated seniors Brittney Groulx (Davison, Mich./Davison [Saginaw Valley State/Mott C.C.]) and Katherine Sulaitis (St. Charles, Ill./East) both received the award – Groulx for the second time in her career – while freshman Kendra Tryniski (Fulton, N.Y./Fulton) earned the honor as well following her first year as a Crusader.
With a team GPA of 3.44, the Crusaders were one of 17 squads recognized by the NTCA for their academic performance as a team over the course of the 2015-16 school year. The NTCA recognizes programs which maintain a 3.2 or better team GPA for the academic year.
“I am very proud of this team,” said Crusader head coach Matt Nantais. “We not only had success on the lanes last year, but we also had success in the classroom as well. You can ask anyone who knows me – they will say I am just as proud of our accomplishments in the classroom as on the lanes.”
