HOUSTON, Texas -- Highlighted by a career-best performance and first-place finish from sophomore Elsa Rijpstra, the Nicholls State University cross country program posted a memorable return to action following just over 13 months away from official competition, securing second overall on the women's side along with fourth for the men Sunday afternoon at the HBU Season Opener.

"We were really happy just to come out and line up against three conference opponents," head cross country coach Stefanie Slekis said. "Elsa ran incredibly well, and so did Megan [Nevlud], as they both pushed from the front. Overall the women ran with some real energy and we're really excited to see Elsa come back after so long away in top form. On the men's side, Caleb [Calderon] and Olari [Livingston] did a great job coming out aggressive, especially with the level of competition we saw today. We're looking forward to working towards the conference championships in just a few weeks, and I expect us to continue improving both individually and as a group."

Outside of Rijpstra, who clocked just over an 18-second gap between her first-place run and the rest of the field, the Colonels featured two other Top 10 finishers in the form of freshman Megan Nevlud, who made her collegiate debut with a sixth-place showing, and Lara Reifers, who slid in at eighth. Sophomore Skyler Goodman along with junior Emily Blanchard rounded out the scoring runners for the Red & Gray, picking up 13th and 14th, respectively.

The final team scoring saw the women close out the meet with 42 total points, good for second out of the five competing programs with Sam Houston claiming the win at 32 points.

On the men's side, the Red & Gray saw senior transfer Caleb Calderon lead the pack with an 11th-place overall finish while sophomore Olari Livingston and junior Dustin Worley sealed Top 20 runs at 13th and 19th, respectively. Sophomore Octavio Vasquez-Tilley and freshman Alex Keller, who made his collegiate debut as well, closed out the Nicholls scoring at 22nd and 23rd.

On the final team leaderboard, the Red & Gray ranked fourth in a field of five programs, finishing with 88 points on the day.

UP NEXT
With the season opener out of the way, the Colonels shift focus to their most significant test of the shortened 2020 season -- the FSU XC Invitational, set for just under two weeks from now on Friday, Feb. 5 at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla.

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