Madison Nelson's fifth-place finish highlighted the Bruin cross country season opener at the Bill Buxton Invitational hosted by Simpson College. Nelson was one of four newcomers running for the Bruins, leading the team to a third-place finish among four teams.

Nelson's time 17:00.4 over the 4-kilometer course was just seven seconds off of Lorena Ramirez' Bruin school record established in 2019.

Olivia Russo, Caroline Feig, and Sarah Felten were all making their Bruin debuts and finished 19th (18:31.5), 25th (18:58.7), and 26th (19:05.3) respectively. Taylor Caba was the lone returning Bruin and she ran 18:57.7, good for 24th place in the field of 35.

Coach Craig Christians: I was pleased with our first effort. It was a tough day to run with warm temperatures and high humidity and the Pickard Park course is not an easy one. We're going to keep working and I know we're going to see a big improvement in the coming weeks.

Next up: Greeno-Dirksen Invitational in Lincoln, Neb. on Saturday, Sept. 18.