Julianne Hoekzema

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University cross country teams will travel to Cary, N.C., this Saturday to compete in the Great American Invitational.

The NKU men are coming off a first-place performance at the Norse Cross Country Classic on Sept. 9. Four Norse runners - Zach Koehler, Greaham Niemer, Brad Bullock and Keith Knapp - placed in the top six finishers as NKU edged Ohio Northern by one point for the team title.

Koehler posted a second-place finish with a time of 27:13 in the eight-kilometer run, while Niemer completed the course in 27:21 and took third-place honors. Bullock was fifth with a time of 27:36, and Knapp finished sixth at 27:41.

In the women’s five-kilometer run on Sept. 9, NKU’s Julianne Hoekzema took first place with a time of 19:48 as the Norse finished second as a team.

NKU’s Tracy Carskadon finished fifth with a time of 20:32, and the Norse’s Lisa Sand was 10th in a time of 21:26. A year ago at Greensboro, N.C., Carskadon established an NKU record in the five-kilometer run with a time of 18:38 as the Norse women captured first place at the Greensboro Invitational with a score of 21.

Hoekzema finished in second place in that race last season with a time of 18:56.