Iowa State men’s cross country coach Kevin Bourke knew that if his squad was going to have a successful season, the underclassmen would have to contribute in a big way.

The Iowa State Open on Friday went a long way toward easing his worries and also gave him even higher hopes for the rest of the season.

Without a team score being kept, the emphasis for the race was placed on individual results and ISU’s runners did not disappoint.

Cyclone freshman Mike MwanGong ran his way to a first place finish in a time of 25:28, with transfer student Daniel Kinyua close behind in second with a time of 25:32.

MwanGong and Kinyua were joined in the top ten by fellow Kenyan John Sainna, who battled his way to an eighth place finish.

“It was good to see the two new guys run well,” Bourke said of his top two finishers. “I was really excited about how these young men ran and hope they can keep it up all season.”

With nine runners in the six-team field, ISU also was able to place two more runners in the top 30.

Juniors Tait Steines and Matt Williams covered much of the course together, and Coach Bourke said it showed how important the team aspect of cross country is.

“Matt Willaims and Tait Steines did a good job of running together and I was really pleased with their performance on Friday,” said Coach Bourke. “Overall, the team did a fantastic job of starting the season.”

Meanwhile, Bourke already has his troops hard at work training for the upcoming Minnesota Invitational that will take place on September 25.

With two full weeks to prepare, the Cyclone harriers look to challenge the seven ranked teams that will be there and legitimize their threat to the Big 12 championship.