KEARNEY, Neb. -- The Bruin outdoor track squads kicked off their season at Saturday's Central Nebraska Challenge hosted by NCAA Division II Nebraska-Kearney and the NAIA's Hastings College at Kearney High School. The highlight of the day was a new school record established by Collin Kotz in the men's 5,000-meter run.

The meet was held under overcast skies, temperatures in the 50's, and brisk winds but got off to a hot start as Collin Kotz placed third in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Kotz clocked a good early season run in 9:56.77, good for fourth best in Bruin history.

The men's 800 meters was contested by Richard Marcoux and Saba Khvichava, both coming back from injuries that caused them to miss the indoor season. Marcoux recorded a sub-two minute effort with a 1:59.61 clocking while Khvichava crossed in 2:05.12, both times entering the Bruin Top Ten list.

At 1500 meters, Alicia Rivera Camargo opened her outdoor season in 5:29.22, placing 14th in a field dominated by Nebraska-Omaha. She was the lone female entrant for the Bruins on the day. Robbie Siford kicked off his outdoor campaign in the 1500 as well, finishing in 4:43.88.

The day's final event produced the highlight of the day as Collin Kotz established a new Bruin school record with his 16:17.79 finish, taking ten seconds from the previous mark. Griffin Kipchumba made his outdoor debut, running 17:46.30 in that race.

Head Coach Craig Christians: "It was a good first season showing for us. Collin certainly showed his fitness with his record run in the 5K, especially after a hard steeplechase effort to start the meet. It was great to see Richard and Saba back on the track again. I thought their first races were quite good."

The Bruins return to action next Saturday, April 6, when they travel to Seward, Neb., for the Concordia Invite.