Led by a second-place individual finish by junior Will Shuflit, the Colorado College men's cross country team opened the 2025 season on Saturday with a third-place result at the UCCS Rust Buster Meet in Monument Valley Park.
 
Shuflit's runner-up finish is the second-best ever by a Tiger at the meet as Jackson Brainerd won the event in 2010. Shuflit, a 2024 Division III All-American, finished the 8K race in a time of 24:53.9. Sophomore Diego Escalante followed in 23^rd-place with a time of 26:08.0.
 
Senior Axel Klomparens placed 25^th in 26:09.8, followed by senior Rabbit Barnes, who finished 29^th with a time of 26:18.9. Sophomore Vincent Mangat rounded out the scoring for CC in 31^st place in 26:20.0.
 
The team's third-place finish is the best at the Rust Buster Meet since placing second in 2016. Colorado College was the only Division III school at the meet.
 
"We had a great opening meet," head coach Alex Nichols said. "We saw a lot of improvements over last year, and the top five average was nearly 40 seconds faster than 2024. It clearly shows we're ready for big things this season. 
 
 
Team Results
1. Colorado Christian - 21
1. UCCS – 46
3. Colorado College – 84
4. Metro State – 100
5. Western New Mexico - 150
5. Regis University - 178
 
 
Colorado College Individual Results

Place	Name	Time	Pts
7	Will Shuflit	24:53.9	2
23	Diego Escalante	26:08.0	19
25	Axel Komplarens	26:09.8	20
29	Rabbit Barnes	26:18.9	21
31	Vincent Mangat	26:20.0	22
40	Brady Koch	26:35.0	(24)
43	Lincoln Brewer	26:35.5	(25)
47	Dominic Schwein	26:52.4
55	Ethan Castette	27:03.6
60	Aric Accetta	27:17.0
61	Luc Santos	27:17.9
64	Zach McNaul	27:22.2
65	Eric Coombs	27:24.8
67	Will Pechinsky	27:30.5
69	Jake Seley	27:34.3
71	Sammy Berman	27:38.7
72	Mack Levy	27:42.8
76	Huck Whittemore	28:02.3
77	Julien Lee	28:02.7
78	Connor Clarkson	28:07.7
81	Matt Wells	28:10.8
86	Cole Gresham	28:30.8
87	Will Lennert	28:37.4
92	Silas Whiteson	29:43.3
95	Andrew Peng	29:59.8