The Barton Community College men's cross country team opened the 2015 season Saturday taking third place at the 67th Annual J.K. Gold Classic held in Augusta, Kansas.  Competing in a group of 105 runners from NCAA Division I, small college, and other NJCAA competitors, the Cougars finished thirty-one seconds out of second place with a total team time of 1:44:16.  In part due to the individual championship by Sampson Laari, Barton did record the second best per man average on the 6k R.A.F.T. Course at 20:52. 

Laari, who returns for the Cougars after finishing seventh at the 2014 NJCAA Championships, took the individual by eleven seconds and in front of nine NCAA Division I competitors in a time of 18.36.2.

Fellow sophomore Elder Colindres shaved off nearly a minute from his last year's showing at the Classic coming in at 20:35.5 and fifty-two spots coming in 32nd overall and ninth in the division.   Freshman Morgan Feemster had a solid debut coming in at 21:14.1 and forty-third overall while cracking the division top-twenty with an eighteenth placing.  Sophomore Marcus Pastran was seven seconds behind in 47th place and 21st in the division.

Anthony Forrest, who didn't run cross country his freshman year at Barton but was a member of Barton's NJCAA Outdoor eight place 4X800m relay team, finished his first cross country race in 22:28.1 for 69th place overall and 37th in the division.   Joining Colindres and Forrest on that relay team, Tyler Thornton placed 73rd and 39th respectively crossing the line in 22:41.9 while Robert Portice wrapped up his first collegiate meet in 25:02.0 to finish 98th overall and 56th in the division. 

Among fellow Region VI teams, Barton finished second behind Hutchinson Community College while finishing in front of Pratt Community College (6th), Cloud County Community College (8th), and Cowley College (9th).

The Cougars will return to competition next Saturday with a trip to Hutchinson in the Romp at the Ridge.