STURGIS, S.D. – Highlighting the Gage McSpadden Memorial on Saturday at Fort Meade, Montana State University Billings freshman Andrew Rush began his collegiate career with a strong performance.
 
Rush cruised across the finish line with a time of 19:25.7 on the 6K course, edging Black Hills State University's Lincoln Fleischman by just three seconds to secure a top-six finish.
 
"Andrew had a very strong debut, he was aggressive and went with the leaders and hung tough the whole race," said MSUB head coach Jonathan Woehl.
 
As a team the Yellowjacket men took third place while the women finished fourth place among the four teams competing.
 
"I was very happy with the effort of all of our runners," said coach Woehl. "We set a goal to have a strong finish, and they all passed several runners on their last laps around the course."
 
Bryant Edgerton clocked in a 6K personal best time of 20:14.1 and took 19^th place. Will Hyatt finished 23^rd among the field of 53 runners with a time of 20:26.2. Nate Tweedy finished 36^th place in 21:33.9, followed by Jordi Peiro in 37^th place with a time of 21:35.1, and Jackson Bailey in 46^th place at 22:45.8.
 
Alahna Lien also had a great day herself leading the Yellowjacket women. Lien placed 14^th with a time of 16:38.3 on the 4K course.
 
"Alahna placed herself well and moved up throughout the race," said Woehl. "She did a good job of pulling Cecily and Madeline along with her all the way to the finish."
 
Cecily Eagleton had a strong first showing in an MSUB uniform taking 15^th place in 16:46.3, followed by Madeline Severson in 17^th place with a time of 16:55.4. Other notable performances were Aspen Tolman placing 22^nd among the 39 women with a time of 17:11.3, and Toree Manning not far behind in 28^th with a time of 17:43.7. Also competing was Emma Weaver in 35^th place at 18:30.8, and Chloe Shennum in 36^th at 18:58.6 in their Yellowjacket debut.
 
THE BUZZ:  Andrew Rush and Alahna Lien were named Intermountain Health Performers of the Day.
 
­­UP NEXT: On September 15^th the Yellowjackets heads across the state to Missoula, Montana for the UM Invitational at the U of M Golf Course.