BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Bellevue University cross country and track coach Craig Christians announced today the signing of Olivia Russo (Neola, Iowa/Iowa Western CC/Tri-Center HS) to a National Letter of Intent to continue her academic and athletic careers at Bellevue beginning in the fall of 2019.

Russo comes to BU after spending the past two years at Iowa Western Community College where she graduated with an Associate's degree in 2018. She will have two years of eligibility at Bellevue.

As a Reiver she posted a P.R. of 19:57.1 at the 2017 NJCAA National Championship held at the Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa. While at Iowa Western, Russo also ran both indoor and outdoor track. Her P.R. times for outdoor track are 5:24.00 (1500 Meters), 20:22.99 (5,000 Meters), and 42:58.64 (10,000 Meters). For indoor track she has P.R. times of 11:31.97 (3,000 Meters) and 19:07.58 (5,000 Meters).

Coach Christians on Russo:

"The addition of Olivia bring another proven quality performer to next fall's group of incoming women. She had a great career at Iowa Western and I am excited about the enthusiasm, maturity, and leadership she will bring to the squad."

Russo joins earlier signees Alisiara Hobbs (Topeka, Kan./Shawnee Heights HS) and Isabelle Gonzalez (Del Rio, Texas/Del Rio HS) in the Bruins' 2019 recruiting class.

The Bruins concluded their first varsity season in the fall with a sixth place finish at the North Star Athletic Association Championships and saw all of their runners display marked improvement from the beginning of the season.