Cool and windy conditions greeted the Bruin track team as they opened their outdoor campaign at Saturday's Viking Relays hosted by Grand View University at Des Moines' Duke Williams Stadium.

Collin Kotz, running in his first competition as a Bruin, started the meet and his career off in style with a victory and new school record in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Kotz went to the front and was never challenged as he ran to the win. Kotz' time of 10:08.92 sliced 10 seconds from the old record established in 2019. He was followed by teammate Edrei Murillo in third place running 10:56.77 to complete the best Bruin finish of the day.

Kotz returned later in the 1,500-meter run and posted a 4:25.81 clocking to finish 13th in the large field of 46 runners. Edrei Murillo and Aaron Newton crossed in 4:39.58 and 4:42.12 to place 24th and 27th respectively.

Newton had a short recovery from the 1500 and lined up for the 800 meters where he was 12th in 2:14.50.

Gabe Poppen represented the Bruins in the shorter distances running 57.31 (28th) in the 400 meters and 24.67 (23rd) for 200.

The Bruin women contested just one event with three entrants in the "metric mile," the 1500 meter run. Caroline Feig and Olivia Russo finished sixth and eighth with times of 5:27.18 and 5:35.08 respectively. Hannah Perkins, like Kotz, also ran the first race of her Bruin career crossing in 6:02.54.

Assistant Coach Jose Barbosa commented, "The highlight for me was the way we competed today. In that tough weather, everyone came to race." Head Coach Craig Christians echoed those sentiments saying, "Watching the finishes today, every single athlete was digging deep. We had a lot of Bruins passing runners in the homestretch and that is great to see."

The Bruins will compete again next Saturday when they travel to Sioux Center and the Dordt Invitational.