LINCOLN, Neb. -- The Bellevue University men's cross country team had their second strong showing of the young cross country season with a 14th-place (of 26) finish at Saturday's Greeno/Dirksen Invitational hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan and UNL. The Bruins defeated a number of NCAA Division II squads, with generally NCAA Division I and nationally ranked NAIA teams ahead of them. The meet was run over the gently rolling hills of Mahoney Golf Course in Lincoln, with very warm and humid conditions impacting times.
Richard Marcoux led the Bruins as he placed 78th in the field of 326 athletes, running 26:52.0 over the eight-kilometer course. All five Bruin scorers finished in the top half of the field:
92 – Jose Lara, 27:05.9
98 – Xavier Mallow, 27:12.1
112 – Ronald Kipyegon, 27:24,1
157 – Griffin Kipchumba, 28:15.9
Collin Kotz was the sixth man at 198th in 28:51.2, Robbie Siford was 222nd in 29:34.2, and Jaedon Maxfield finished in 29:57.8, good for 234th.
Head Coach Craig Christians: "I was satisfied with our effort today. The conditions were tough, and that impacted athletes differently depending on their ability to handle the heat. I thought it was a good test for us, and we have some movement within our ranks as to who will be a scorer, and that's a good thing. Our top five were within 1:24 of each other today and that's a slight improvement from the meet at Augie. We've worked hard in some particularly hot weather over the past couple of weeks, and I don't think that we're going to see the result of that work immediately, but it's going to come. I like the direction we're moving."
The Bruins will get the opportunity to run on the National Championship course next week when they travel to Columbia, Mo., for the Gans Creek Classic hosted by the University of Missouri. Race time for the men is Friday morning at 9:30 a.m.
