WALNUT, Calif. – It was quite a homecoming for Northern Arizona University sophomore runner Kortnee Burton Thursday night at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the campus of Mt. San Antonio. The Brea, Calif., native breezed past the packed field of 56 runners in a personal-best time of 35:18.67 to claim first place in the open division of the women's 10,000-meter run.

Growing up just 15 minutes from campus, it was Burton's first time competing at Mt. SAC since her high school days. With family and friends in attendance, Burton was excited to be able to perform at such a high level.

"I think having my family watch and cheer helped me to run really well," said Burton who crushed her previous best time of 37:53.12. "I think the first half of the race was really comfortable for me, and the second half I just started picking it up because I felt so good at that point."

Interim Director of Track and Field & Cross Country Eric Heins was also very pleased with Thursday night's results.

"Anytime you can pickup four top-40 regional marks it is a good night," Heins said. "I am very pleased with the effort put forth by all of our athletes that competed tonight, and I am excited to see what the next two days have in store for the team."

Thursday night also brought forth personal bests from two other Lumberjacks who competed.

Sophomore Ahmed Osman rolled to a second-place finish in the men's 10K invitational, ranking him in the top 10 of the region. In the mix for must of the race, the All-American took second after breaking away from the secondary pack to turn in a time of 28:52.57, nearly four seconds better then his previous top mark (28:56.41).

In the men's Olympic Development division of the 10K, Belus turned in a 19th-place finish in a time of 29:58. It was the first career 10K on the track for the Tempe, Ariz., native. The career-best mark puts Belus at No. 35 in the region.

Joining Belus in the same heat of the 10K was freshman Tim Freriks. The Cottonwood, Ariz., native turned in a time of 30:30.99 in his first collegiate 10K.

Senior Nell Rojas collected a Big Sky-leading time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase invite (10:34.64). It was the first steeplechase of the year for the Boudler, Colo., native who has appeared at the regional meet every year of her career.

The Lumberjacks return to the track Friday, as the team will compete at Mt. SAC and the Brian Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif.

DID YOU KNOW?…The Northern Arizona University athletics department recorded its highest cumulative grade point average since 1997, recording a 3.16 GPA among its more than 300 student-athletes at the completion of the fall of 2009 semester.