The Barton Community College men's cross country team kicked off the 2021 campaign at the annual Terry Masterson Twilight Classic in Hutchinson Friday evening.

Normally ran under the lights, the start of the race was moved up three hours due to potential rainfall while the runners battled the high humidity conditions.

Unable to post a team score with only four entry's, sophomore Tyrese Reid led Barton with a 51st showing with a time of 23:16.3.

Freshman Trent Padilla placed 111st in his Cougar debut with a time of 25:08.3.

Ethan Woodrome concluded the four lap mile course with a 111th result and time of 25:43.9 with Dorde Racic rounding out the Barton four pack finishing 144th crossing the line at 26:55.5.

Garden City's Dennis Mutai bested the 167 participant field with a time of 19:47.7. Awet Beraki of Cloud County Community College and Gudisa Adnow of Fort Scott Community College finished second and third respectively.

Cloud County took the team title posting a score of 65 out of the 17-teams. Cowley College and Washburn University rounded out the top-three team scores with scores of 102 and 118.

The Cougars next competition is schedule for September 24th for the Emporia State Cross Country Invitational held at Jones Park in Emporia, KS.