GULF SHORES, Ala. – Vanessa Cortes of Mount Mercy University placed  third in the marathon at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships  this past weekend.

Cortes covered the 26 miles in 3 hours, 10 minutes, 51.2 seconds to  break the school record by nearly 10 minutes and become an NAIA  All-American. The marathon was a new race at the NAIA meet this season  and Mount Mercy dominated the event, with Andrea Ertz finishing in  ninth place and Alexa Zamora placing 10th.

Jon Anderson of Mount Mercy finished ninth in the 5,000 meter race walk.