COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Freshman Brian Armijo paced the Southwestern men's cross country team in its season opener at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS)14th Annual Rust Buster. 

Armijo narrowly edged out teammate Noah Dennis, completing the 8,000-meter race with a time of 28:22.9 for an average mile of 5:42.5. Dennis clocked in at 28:29.0 for an average mile of 5:43.8. The duo finished No. 48 and 50 in a field that featured five NCAA Division II schools, UCCS alumni, and the reigning Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) champion Colorado College. Southwestern finished seventh as a team, placing just ahead of Regis (Colo.). 

Xander Bailey, Doug Ginsberg, and Aidan Gomez all grouped together to finish No. 62, 63, and 64. Bailey finished at 29:17.2. Ginsberg clocked a personal-best time of 29:18.4. Gomez ran a 29:19.1. 

Luke Markey finished 85th (32:25.7), and Nathan Botros (33:09.5), Andrew Cutting (33:11.9), and Vincent Kim (35:48.7) finished 89th, 90th, and 91st. 

Southwestern will return to prepare for the Concordia Cross Country Classic hosted by Concordia in Pflugerville, Texas, on Friday, Sept. 24, at 8:30 a.m.