COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Just south on I-25, the Regis University men's cross country team opened their 2023 season down in Colorado Springs.

The Rangers competed in the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Rust Buster, with senior Judd Ogle finishing first for the Rangers.

"I think today was a mixed bag. Judd ran really well out front and hit his goal time we had in mind for him. Wyatt [Farace] followed well and Aaron [Bennett] ran a two-minute personal best," said Head Coach Evan Verbal. "Overall, I think it was a great first race."

Ogle finished 34th with a time of 27 minutes, 38.9 seconds. Wyatt Farace was just behind him in 41st with a time of 28:00.6.

"I think you could just tell he's a veteran. He was pacing himself well and seeing him continue to get faster shows his maturity as a runner," said Verbal.

Finishing out the five runners was freshman Demetrious Brown with a time of 30:33.1 and crossed the line 72nd. John Murphy and Aaron Bennett finished one after the other. 

Murphy finished in 32:45.6 and placed 82nd while Bennett ran a 32:50.6 and finished 83rd. Bennett's previous best time in the 8K was a 33:37.3. 

The Rangers head to Nebraska on Sept. 16 for the Greeno-Dirsken Cross-Country Invitational.

"We're going to really start getting into the meat of the training this week," said Verbal. "We just want to keep working and improve from last year."