Rolf Registers Third-Place Finish at Regionals; Sophomore Sensation Qualifies for Nationals; Team Finishes Ninth
Rolf covered the six-kilometer course in 21:00.79, trailing only Michigan's Nicole Edwards (20:50.91) and Michigan State's Alissa McKaig (21:00.26). With her third-place finish, Rolf earns All-Region honors for the second consecutive year, joining former Valpo great Collette Liss with two regional honors. Rolf and Liss are the only runners in Crusader history to ever earn All-Region accolades.
Two Crusader seniors improved greatly on their performances from a year ago at the regional meet to finish second and third for Valpo. Danielle Nunnelly (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso), the only four-time All-Conference honoree in school history, finished in 56th position with a time of 22:38.35, an improvement of 43 spots over the 2005 Great Lakes Regional.
Ashley Billstrom (Hales Corners, Wis./Whitnall) followed close behind Nunnelly, covering the 6K in 22:40.41, good for 58th place, 55 places better than her finish last year. Renae Swift (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) was the next Crusader runner to cross the line, coming home 113th with a time of 23:35.41, while Rachael Button (Farmington, Mich./Farmington) closed out the scoring for the Brown and Gold, finishing in 23:46.70, good for 125th place.
Paced by Rolf's incredible run, the Crusaders put together one of their best efforts ever to run to a ninth-place finish, registering 343 points as they defeated 21 other squads. Michigan State edged out Wisconsin, 63-66, to earn the team championship.
