CHICAGO, Ill. - The Elmhurst University men's cross country team turned in a dominant performance to capture the team title at their season-opening meet, placing four runners inside the top 12 and finishing with a winning score of 35 points at the North Park Invite.

Sophomore David Valkanov led the way for the Bluejays, taking the individual title with a time of 16:00.4, edging Benedictine's Karan Shetty by less than a second at the line. Elmhurst also received a strong boost from sophomore Michael Bailey, who crossed fourth overall in 16:11.8, and junior Eric Martinez, who followed closely in fifth at 16:19.4. Senior Brandon Pounders added a 12th-place finish in 17:19.8, while sophomore Chris Marroquin secured 19th in 18:03.9. Junior Kayden Miller rounded out Elmhurst's top seven with a 25th-place showing in 18:24.1.

Elmhurst outpaced runner-up Dominican (56) and third-place Illinois Tech (94) in the team standings. Judson finished fourth with 113 points, Aurora was fifth with 114, Concordia-Chicago took sixth at 115, and North Park closed the team race in seventh with 126.

The Bluejays return to action at the NCCXC Invitational on Friday, Sept. 5.