(Wednesday, January 25; Sioux Center, Iowa) Jaci Burtis has announced her intention to attend Dordt and join the Defender cross country and track and field program. She competed for Owatonna  High School (Minnesota).  

"I am excited to welcome Jaci to our program.  Jaci is dedicated and loves to run.  She will be a wonderful teammate and will contribute to the team in a variety of key ways. She is a great fit for Dordt University and the Defender distance program.  I look forward to working with Jaci the next four years," said Dordt cross country head coach and assistant track and field coach Nate Wolf.  

Burtis has personal bests of 1:06 in the 400 meters; 2:28 in the 800 meters, 5:48 in 1600 and 12:55 in the 3200.  She has a personal best of 19:54 on a 5,000 meter cross country course. Burtis earned a total of nine varsity letters while running for Owatonna and earned all-conference honors twice.  

"When I visited the campus everyone was so welcoming and I felt like it was where I belonged. I got a chance to run with the track and field team and enjoyed it. I wanted to a attend a Christian university and Dordt fit in with what I wanted," said Burtis.  

Jaci is the daughter of Jeff and Michelle Burtis of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She plans to study environmental science and criminal justice.    

Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, is a comprehensive Christian college rooted in the Reformed tradition. The Defender athletic program is a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and the Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association (MACHA).?    

U.S. News & World Report, Money Magazine, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review all list Dordt on their best colleges lists. Dordt is home to approximately 1,500 students.