WAYNE, Neb. -- Chris Casart was an individual medalist helping the Bellevue University men's cross country team to a third place finish and both BU women's runners established new P.R.'s at the Wayne State College Wildcat Cross Country Classic on Saturday morning.
Women's Recap:
On the women's side Bellevue had a pair of runners take part in the meet. BU was again short-handed due to injury and illness but the team is expected to be at full strength for next weekend's race.
Dayana Montano-Salama placed 33rd with a time of 25:26, 55 seconds faster than her previous P.R. at last week's Dean White Invitational.
Diana Montano-Salama finished 42nd in a time of 27:37 to best her P.R. by a minute and 22 seconds, also set at last week's Dean White Invitational.
Wayne State took home the team title with a score of 27, beating second-place Mount Marty (48 points) by 21 points. Fellow NSAA-member Dakota State (54 points) finished third followed by Peru State (112 points) in fourth place.
Teammates Kim Lowman (20:35) and Andrea Torres (20:41) ran to a 1-2 finish for the Wildcats.
Men's Recap:
Chris Casart was an individual medalist for the Bruins with an eighth place finish in a time of 28:05 and Cole Wagner placed 12th with a time of 28:36. Casart and Wagner were just eight and three seconds off the P.R.'s they set at last week's Dean White Invitational
The eighth place finish was the third top 10 result for Casart this season.
Tony Chol (29:33), Jason Landin (29:56), and Aaron Newton (31:14) placed 18th, 20th, and 24th among scoring runners. Chol and Landin both set P.R.'s., Chol besting his mark by 24 seconds (Dean White Invite) and Landin bettering his by 28 seconds (Dean White Invite) while Newton was just 14 seconds off the pace he set last week.
Host Wayne State took home the team title with a narrow 34-35 win over Dakota State despite the Trojans' Braden Curnow (26:15) and Max Cruse's (26:34) strong 1-2 finish.
Bellevue edged Mount Marty for third place by an 82-85 margin.
BU hit another milestone as four runners ran sub-30 minute races for the first time, approaching Coach Craig Christians goal of having five scoring runners under that benchmark by season's end.
Coach Craig Christians:
"I left the meet feeling like every runner out there, as they have done all year, ran a tremendous race when you consider how hard we worked this week. We continue to improve and, I know I sound like a broken record, but that is what I find really exciting about this team."
"Dayana and Diana knocked on my door last spring and asked to join the team when they heard we were starting one. What they have accomplished is a testament to their discipline and hard work. I could not be more proud of them."
Up Next:
Bellevue runs against next week at the Briar Cliff Invitational in North Sioux City, Iowa.
