BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The IU Indianapolis men's cross country team officially opened the 2025 campaign on Friday morning (Aug. 29) with a small group competing in Indiana's Sam Bell Invitational. Four Jaguars completed the 6,000m race with a fifth peeling off before the final line. 

Redshirt freshman Nick Cook led the group with a time of 19:08.40 while redshirt sophomore Jay Pillai finished at 19:34.97. Cameron Smith and Carter Schorr finished in succession to round out the finishers at 19:45.82 and 19:45.98, respectively.  

"It was really fun to get back on the course with the guys," Cook said, after having redshirted last cross country season. "I'm ready to see what our team can accomplish this season."

Interim head coach Justin Amburgy rested the bulk of the roster in the opener as a fifth runner, Matt Mitsch, used Friday's event as a competitive workout opportunity. 

"Today was a great effort for our guys. The goal going in was to start at threshold pace and then descend after the mile," Amburgy said. "Cook closed especially well, running 5:59 for his final 2K - the fifth-fastest closer in the field. 

"The next few weeks at Purdue Fort Wayne and Notre Dame will be good benchmarks for us as we open up more of the crew with most of our top 12 staying back in Indy to train today."

Host Indiana took the race's top 11 spots through a combination of attached and unattached entries. Abe Eckman was the top finisher at 17:54.55 while IU's Garrett Hicks was the top attached finisher at 18:38.03. 

The Jaguars will be back in action when a larger group competes in The Rumble in the Fort on Sept. 20 in Fort Wayne, Ind.