Junior Jack Begley, first-year Aidan Nathan and senior Trey Razanauskas notched the top three finishes on Thursday afternoon, as the Case Western Reserve University men's cross country team opened its 2021 campaign with a 19-36 win over nationally fourth-ranked John Carroll University at the Sudeck Classic at the Squire Valleevue Farm in Hunting Valley, Ohio.

The squad was quick to shake off its rust, returning to action for the first time since the 2019 NCAA Division III Championships in November 2019. Begley won the 6K race with a time of 19:15.7, followed by Nathan in second place with a mark of 19:27.7 and Razanauskas in third with a time of 19:34.2. Rounding out the Spartans' top-five finishers were junior Robert St. Clair in sixth place with a time of 19:50.4 and first-year Niles Tilenius in seventh with a mark of 19:51.4.

Other finishers for the Spartans on Thursday included first-year Hans Holst in 12^th place (20:04.3), junior Parker Straight in 15^th place (20:12.5), senior Alex Loeper in 17^th place (20:26.1), first-year Luke Kishna in 20^th place (20:34.4), sophomore Stephen Henry in 21^st place (20:34.8), senior Chris Heermann in 22^nd place (20:39.1), junior Jacob Conard in 23^rd place (20:40.9), senior Rahul Mikkilineni in 26^th place (21:27.4), sophomore Matthew Smutny in 28^th place (21:42.8), first-year Donald Folk in 29^th place (22:07.4), junior Kevin Echelberry in 30^th place (22:11.5) and sophomore Joseph Ecklund in 34^th place (23:58.4).

The Sudeck Classic is run in the honor of the legendary late former CWRU head cross country and track & field coach Bill Sudeck.  During his 46-year career at the Case Institute of Technology and Case Western Reserve University, he led his cross country teams to 12 conference titles, leaving behind a legacy of success for the program.

The Spartans will now be off until Friday, September 17, when the team returns to action at the All-Ohio Championships, hosted by Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio.