AUGUSTA, Kan. – The Butler cross country teams participated in the Wichita State J.K. Gold Classic at the RAFT Golf Course on Saturday morning. The meet was the season opener for the Grizzlies.

"I was really impressed with the effort that we put out," said Butler head coach Ryan Turner. "It was the first meet of the year and you never really know what you're going to get. I couldn't ask for anything more. They exceeded my expectations for this meet."

Due to injuries, only two Butler men ran in the collegiate 6K race. Freshman Nolan Hesse finished 27th overall with a time of 19:37.83, while freshman Max Ramirez completed the course in 21:27. Hesse was the third-best junior college runner at the meet, which also had NCAA schools Wichita State, Kansas State and Oral Roberts competing.

"Nolan has been our number four guy in practice and if he's our number four guy, I think we'll have a pretty good team," said Turner.

In the women's 4K, sophomore Terra Flores was the second-best junior college runner and finished 28th overall with a time of 15:24.94. Sophomores Janell Kidd (16:03.08) and Lindi Young (16:04.54) placed 39th and 40th respectively, while sophomore Hayley Ribordy (16:34.20) finished 49th.

"The girls went out really hard and competed really well," Turner said. "They hit all their paces and were able to finish strong."

Turner added that he hopes to have a full men's squad running in two weeks for the UTSA Ricardo Romo Classic in San Antonio, TX. The meet, hosted by the University of Texas-San Antonio, will be held on Sept. 19 at 6:30 p.m.