Saturday September 3rd
UCCS Rust Buster
Amor Knocks Off the Rust with Runner-Up Finish
HU cross country All American
Andrew Amor placed second Saturday at the UCCS Rust Buster Open in Colorado Springs, CO.Â
The race turned into a duel between Amor and Afewerki Zeru of UCCS. Zeru, the defending national champion in the 5k, shook loose from Amor just past the three mile mark of the race to win in a course record 23:56. Amor ran the fastest time ever by an HU runner in the Monument Valley Park course , following Zeru across the line in 24:25.
The Cowboys placed third among college teams behind UCCS (ranked #5 nationally) and RMAC foe CSU-Pueblo.
Cowboy Top Five:
2.
Andrew Amor 24:25
25.
Mart Nijhuis  27:41
27.
Celso Garcia 27:42
30.
John Hall.   28:25
40.
Edgar Hernandez 30:45
Complete Race Results Here
Coaches comments:
Andy raced well. the UCCS guy is one of the favorites to win nationals, that's a tough task for the first race of the year. Andy is a really smart racer, he'll file this away for the next time they race."
"Celso Garcia raced great in his first college race. He and Mart ran together and helped each other. Mart just arrived from the Netherlands last week, so he was easing into racing this week -- truly rust busting." - Head Coach, Bob DeVriesÂ
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Lovato and Leslie Race in the Top Twenty to Open the Season
In a race with two nationally ranked teams and no less than ten current and former All Americans, both Faith Lovato and Jewels Leslie raced their way into the top twenty at Saturday's UCCS Rust Buster Open.
Lovato opened the season with the second fastest race of her career (18:46) to take 13th in the 5k race while Leslie set her new collegiate best, running 19:17 for 20th.
As a team, the HU women placed fifth. Host UCCS took places 1,2,3 on the way to an easy team victory.
Complete Race Results Here
Cowgirl Top Five:
13. Faith Lovato 18:46
20. Jewels Leslie 19:17
32. Faith Jebet 21:51
34. Anica Lucero 22:23
36. Abigail Serna 22:47
Coaches comments:
"Faith looks very fit. She made a big move just past the 2k mark, but couldn't hold off the pack. She'll learn to be more patient and race smart. "
"Jewels is starting to look like the Jewels who was NM state champ in 2019. She had a good summer of training and raced tough today."
"We have a lot of work to do at 3,4 and 5. We need to keep getting fitter and racing with confidence."
"Anica and Kailyn both raced a little scared in their first college race."
"Abi Serna ran her fastest 5k ever, so that is great to see."
