Kotz makes triumphant return to Wayne Cross Country Course

WAYNE, Neb. -- Former Wayne State Wildcat and current Bellevue University Bruin Collin Kotz returned to the Wayne Country Club, the site of Friday's Wildcat Cross Country Classic, and delivered a top 10 finish to lead all BU runners.

Nine NAIA squads and host Wayne State (Division II) were met with intermittent light showers over the challenging hills adjacent to the Wayne campus.

Kotz turned in the top performance of his Bellevue career with a ninth-place podium finish, crossing the line in 27:58.2 over the eight-kilometer route. "I told Collin that he was in 14th at about two miles, and he just started going after people to get into the top ten," remarked head coach Craig Christians. "Collin ran an inspired race, and coming off a great run last week at Greeno, I'm excited to see where that leads him over the rest of the season."

Midland's Jon Mahoney was the overall winner in 26:39.5. The Bruins also had the 16th place runner among 81 finishers, with Richard Marcoux running 28:34.2. Also finishing for the Bruins in the 60th and 63rd positions were freshmen Enoc Ortega and Robbie Siford, running times of 31:34.5 and 32:20.4 respectively.

The Bruins had two entries among the 80 female athletes who raced the new NAIA championship distance of six kilometers for the first time. Alicia Rivera Camargo crossed the line in 28th place, running 26:16.9, while Olivia Russo finished in 27:53.2, good for 45th place. Courtney Sporrer of Morningside took the overall title in 23:18.7. Wayne State's women and men both captured team championships.

Head Coach Craig Christians: "The goal of every race, besides to run fast, is to learn something that can be used in a future race. This is a very challenging course, and I think we came away with confidence that we're up to the task. Alicia and Olivia hadn't run 6K before, and I thought they performed great. The men were challenged by the course, too, but ran very well. We're tired and a little banged up as we rested some people today, but I continue to see good things in our future. As always, our goal is to run our best in November."

The Bruins will take next weekend off and then return to action on October 6 when they compete in the Briar Cliff Invite at the Adams Nature Preserve in North Sioux City, S.D.