Nelson smashes school record at Greeno/Dirksen Invite

Sophomore Madison Nelson took nearly a full minute from the Bruin school record time for 5 kilometers at today's Greeno/Dirksen cross country invitational hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan at Mahoney Park in Lincoln.

Overcast conditions and temperatures in the 70's and an exceptionally strong field created an environment for fast times as Nelson's time of 18:44.3 was good for 41st place overall in a field of 307 finishers. She was first among NAIA finishers in the meet that was comprised of three dozen schools, including ten from NCAA Division I.  

Three other Bruins had strong efforts, led by Hannah Perkins, placing 194th with her 21:39.1 clocking, followed closely by Caroline Feig's 211th place finish in 21:59.0. Claire Kimutai made her Bruin debut placing 289th in 25:36.4.   

Head Coach Craig Christians: "Coach Barbosa and I really liked what we saw from our women today. Madison was almost a full minute faster than last year over the same course. Hannah was not far from a lifetime best, and she should be really encouraged by that since she's done little racing in the last four years. Caroline and Claire both came into the season with work to do, but they…and everyone…has been showing up with an attitude to work hard and get better. We can't ask for more than that."  

The Bruins quickly return to action next Friday, September 23, when they travel to Wayne State for the Wildcat Classic.