The Bulldogs placed tenth Saturday morning against a strong field at the John McNichols Invitational that included 14 nationally-ranked teams.
 
William Zegarski led the Butler squad with a 12^th-place finish, covering the 8k course in a time of 24:00.7.
 
"It was an exceptionally tight team race under adverse conditions," said head coach Matt Roe. "We were not far from a great team finish but just a little off where we hoped to finish. The flip side is our toughness allowed us to pick up crucial wins against some elite national teams."
 
The Bulldog men, who have earned six consecutive appearances in the NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships, joined some of the nation's best in taking an early run on the LaVern Gibson Championship Course, which will host the 2026 NCAA Championships in November.
 
Zegarski was followed by teammates Graham Tomori (24:23.2; 39^th), Simon Jeukenne (24:23.2; 68^th), Sean Byrnes (24:39.6; 74th), and Kyle Grove (24:44.3; 81^st) in Butler's scoring five. Grove is the current BIG EAST Male Athlete of the Week while the four other Bulldogs made their respective season debuts this morning in Terre Haute.
 
BYU, ranked No. 9 in the preseason national poll, took the team title with a score of 71. The top five also included No. 21 Florida, Washington, No. 27 Stanford, and No. 11 Washington State.
 
Butler, ranked No. 16 in the preseason national poll, beat several ranked teams in No. 12 Eastern Kentucky, No. 19 Harvard, No. 20 Georgia, No. 23 Air Force, No. 24 Cal Baptist, and No. 26 Louisville. There were a total of 34 teams in the field.
 
Florida's Kelvin Cheruiyot won the race in a time of 23:20.7.
 
The Butler Men (Championship 8k Race):
12) William Zegarski, 24:00.7
39) Graham Tomori, 24:23.2
68) Simon Jeukenne, 24:37.5
74) Sean Byrnes, 24:39.6
81) Kyle Grove, 24:44.3
89) Matteo Rosio, 24:52.6
107) Asher Propst, 25:03.2
128) Seth Mahony, 25:15.2
159) Connor Latouf, 25:39.8

Five Bulldogs also competed in the Open Race.

The Butler Men (Open 8k Race):
7) Eli Ilg, 25:50.5
15) Kayden Elliott, 26:01.2
16) Mick Temple, 26:01.3
35) Caelan D'Onofrio, 26:29.5
62) Owen Whitney, 27:16.6

Up Next: The Butler women did not compete in Terre Haute Saturday and are next in action Oct. 2 at the Joe Piane Invitational hosted by Notre Dame. The Bulldog men will once again join a field stacked with ranked teams Oct. 9 at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational, which is their next scheduled competition.