Indianola, Iowa — Southwestern Community College opened its 2025 cross country season at the Bill Buxton Invitational hosted by Simpson College on Friday, August 29. The Spartan men's team placed third overall, led by sophomore Brandon Briley, whose top-10 finish propelled him to Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Athlete of the Week honors.

Briley covered the 6,000-meter course in 19:57.5, averaging a 5:21 mile pace to finish seventh overall in a field dominated by NCAA Division III competition. His strong performance marked the highest finish for a Spartan runner at the event in recent years.

Freshman Jacob Driskill was the second finisher for Southwestern, clocking 21:25.9 to place 24th. He was followed by Owen Martin (31st, 22:57.8), Ramzi Ben Haj Belgacem (32nd, 23:03.8), and Erik Lash (33rd, 23:11.5). The Spartans' spread between their top five runners was just over three minutes, showing promise for the season ahead.

As a team, Southwestern posted a cumulative time of 1:50:36 and an average runner pace of 22:07, securing third place behind Simpson College and Simpson Alumni squads.

The Spartans will return to action on Saturday, September 20, at the Greeno-Dirksen Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska. The meet will be held at Mahoney Park Golf Course.