ROMEOVILLE, Ill. -- Stepping on the course in the nation's largest division II-only cross country meet, the Augustana Vikings held its own alongside some of the top programs in the country. As a team, the Viking women finished in second (101 points) and the men took home third (133 points). 

Hosted by Lewis (IL) University and run on the Lewis Cross Country Course, 17 nationally ranked programs (11 men, 6 women) participated on Saturday. Augustana head coach Tracy Hellman thought both Viking programs performed well. 

"We were pleased with the results from today," Hellman said. "Both teams ran strong and with this event being one of the top DII fields in the country, it was nice to perform well. That being said, we need to race better as we enter championship season. We're excited about our next opportunity at the NSIC championships."

The Viking women, running a 6K, finished with seven student-athletes in the top 45. Augustana was paced by a strong performance from sophomore Nicolette Schmidt, who finished in 10th place at 23:04.01. Junior Claire Boersma was just a step off her pace, checking in at 23:09.2 for 14th place. Cait Savey (26th, 23:22.3), Rebekah Rairdon (33th, 23:29.3) and Rachel Rairdon (36th, 23:34.7) rounded out the top-five Viking finishers. 

On the men's side (8K), Augustana was led by a strong finish from senior Jesus Urtusuastegui, who finished 10th (25:35.7) out of more than 420 runners. Fellow senior Aaron Runge was a step behind him, finishing in 25:37.4 for 11th place overall. Junior Austin Miller secured a 21st place finish with a time of 25:55.8, and Nathan Schroeder (25:59) made it four Vikings in the top-25. 

Also running well for the Augustana men was Skylar DeJong, who clocked in at 26:34.3 for 66th overall, along with Henry Klitzke (88th, 26:44.8) and Evan Johnson (105th, 27:01.2).

Grand Valley State (MI) won the team portion in both the men's and women's race.

Closer to home, select student-athletes competed in the Dordt Holiday Inn Express Invitational in Sioux Center, Iowa. On the men's side, a trio of Viking ran unattached and finished in the top 50. Ethan Kilton led the Vikings with a 7th place finish (25:48), along with Jonah Breuer (39th, 27:21:44) and PJ Kooima (42nd, 27:29:41). 

On the women's side in Dordt, three Vikings finished in the top-10 running unattached. Mia Salas finished in fourth in 18:55:52, Cami Streff crossed the line in sixth (19:14:64) and Olivia Sovereign in seventh (19:18:42).

With the regular season in the books, Augustana now turns their attention to the NSIC Championships, which will run on Saturday, Oct. 26 in Wayne, Nebraska.