The Cyclones opened their season at the Saints Twilight Invite in Channahon, IL, their only 5K event. The men took 10th place among the 11 four- and two-year colleges and universities.

As is typical this time of year, the runners had to push through the heat and humidity of the dog days of summer, but they persevered for some solid times.

Andrew Sima led the way, crossing the finish line in 17:22.4 for 54th place. Coming in seconds behind him was Santana Garcia in 56th (17:26.9). "We knew Andrew would lead us. He's better at the longer distances, so this 5K was a nice appetizer. Santana surprised me. I know he enjoys racing and will be a big asset later in the season, but he ran really well this race even though he's still gaining fitness," Dimizas noted.

After having his season cut short last year due to injury, Noah Rigoni-Kreczmer was back in the lineup, running to 81st place (18:28.4). Demario Angarita (93rd, 19:21.5), Joel Vargas-Cortes (94th, 19:21.6), Brennan Rudolph (99th, 19:38.4) and Jacob Madera (101st, 19:49.9) stuck together for strong finished. "They'll continue to improve and will be the ones who can really alter the scoring in our championship races in October," Dimizas said.

Robert Slezak continues to improve, finishing 115th in 21:38.5. He ran faster each race last season and already started 30 seconds ahead of last year. Josue Trujillo (124th, 22:23.6) is coming back from injury and was thrown in last minute but still ran well.

"The men have their work cut out for them. It was a mixed bag in terms of performances, but we now have a better idea of where we stand," said Head Coach Dimitri Dimizas. "Half of our team ran their first collegiate race and now must prepare to tack on an additional two miles when they move to the 8K distance the rest of the season."

View all the results here.