ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The Washburn men's cross country team was led by a strong performance from freshman Taylor Karcz at the Griffon Open, as eight Ichabods competed in the event.

Karcz paced Washburn with a 21st-place finish, covering the course in 26:22.6. Fellow freshman Aidan Braun was the second Ichabod to cross the finish line, placing 56th overall in 26:57.4.

Freshman Kyle Wagoner continued the strong showing by the Ichabod rookie class, finishing 64th in 27:08.9. Freshman Rhys Johnson followed in 71st place with a time of 27:20.0, while junior Ludovico Vaccari rounded out Washburn's top five finishers in 74th place after posting a time of 27:24.8.

Freshman Gunner Wagner recorded an 81st-place finish in 27:41.5, and sophomore Logan Montgomery completed the course in 29:04.9 to place 114th overall. Freshman Layne Whisler rounded out the Washburn contingent, finishing 116th in 29:18.5.

The Ichabods will return to action in two weeks on the same course at the MIAA Championships.