FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Trine University men's cross country season kicked off on Friday evening at the Maston XC Opener at Purdue-Fort Wayne. The Thunder placed second as a team, behind only the NCAA DI and host institution.

Sophomore Ryan Hoopingarner was the top finishing collegiate athlete at the event with a second-place time of 15:33.2 in the 5k tune-up. Joining him in the top-five was junior Joseph Packard in fifth at 15:41.7.

"Hoopingarner and Packard ran really well up front, they weren't intimidated, but I thought the pack split up too early," Coach Raber pointed out after the race. "It would have been nice to see them stick together for two miles and then really race out the last mile. It was hot, and they got out quick, but a positive is we were able to get out and see what their fitness is and be able to set times and paces moving forward into 8k races."

Junior Matthew Edison was third in the Trine lineup and 11th overall with a time of 16:18.5. One spot behind on the leaderboard was junior Gehrig Longe at 16:19.8. Senior Jacob Myers was 14th overall at 16:24.4. Freshman Hank Glasgo and junior Nicolas Squillacioti rounded out the scoring members for the Thunder in 16th and 17th place. Glasgo maintained a time of 16:27.5 while Squillacioti ended the event at 16:29.1.

Next up for Trine is the 2023 Auto Owners Spartan Invitational at Forest Akers Golf Club and hosted by Michigan State University. That race takes place in two weeks on Friday, September 15.