HASTINGS, Neb. -- Chris Casart finished in ninth place as the Bellevue University men's cross country placed sixth at the Bronco Stampede hosted by Hastings College at Lake Hastings Park in warm and sunny conditions Saturday morning.
The Bruins finished one point shy of fifth-place York College with 114 points in the 8K race. Concordia (Neb.) University took the team title with 33 points.
Casart posted a time of 28:19.60 as BU's top runner. He ran at a 5:40 per mile pace over the five-mile course.
Alec Wick of Doane University was the individual winner, finishing in 27:13.51 in the field of 63 runners.
Cole Wagner placed 26th with at 29:56.05. Jason Landin finished in 33rd with a time of 30:38.65.
Tony Chol had an impressive debut for the Bruins as their fourth runner, finishing in the 36th spot in 31:06.
Aaron Newton placed 47th, coming in at 32:22.53.
As with the women, every member of the men's squad showed marked improvement from their first effort two weeks ago at Missouri Western.
"It's all about getting better and every single person on the team did that today so I can't ask for more than that," remarked head coach Craig Christians. "We are a very young and inexperienced team in terms of collegiate racing so I am proud of the fact that we can hold our own among established programs."
The Bruins will travel to Doane University in Crete, Neb. next Saturday, Sept. 22, when they compete in the Dean White Invitational beginning at 10 a.m.
