The men’s cross country team won its season opener in the Illini Challenge on Friday, as six of the top seven finishers in the meet were members of the Orange and Blue squad.

Junior Jeremy Stevens took top honors at the Challenge, winning the 6K race with a time of 18:46.51. Freshmen Jim Riddle and Nate Troester rounded out the top three, placing second and third respectively.

“We looked good. We got out of it what we wanted to get out of it, which was a good solid effort and kind of shake the rust off, and it’s nice to win,” said head coach Wendel McRaven.

The Challenge individual winner, Stevens, said that coming off this meet he is looking to place in the top ten in the Big Ten Cham.s season.