PELLA—Taking five of the first six spots, the Central College men's cross country team cruised to an easy win in its own season-opening three-team Central Dutch Invitational Friday evening.
           
Racing on the 6,000-meter campus course, Noah Jorgenson (junior, Sidney) topped the 47-runner field for the second consecutive year, winning in 19:28.5 after finishing in 19:56 last year. Kenny Cronin (sophomore, Des Moines, Davis County HS) was third (19:38.9) with Cutler Owens (5th-year, Runnells, Southeast Polk HS) fourth (19:50.0) and Caleb Silver (senior, Conrad, BCLUW HS) fifth (20:00.8), inches ahead of Adam Sylvia (senior, Rochester, Mass., Old Rochester HS), who was sixth in an identical time (20:00.8). Also in the varsity seven were Randy Jimenez (sophomore, Liberty Center, Southeast Warren HS), who was eighth (20:14.3) and Derek Webster (sophomore, Norwalk), who took 10th (20:25.7).
           
Central finished with 19 points with Grinnell College at 52 and Indian Hills Community College at 70.
           
Dunham was impressed with Jorgensen's showing but even happier with the team's slim 32.3-second spread.
           
"Our spread last year was 50 seconds and we had Noah run considerably faster than his did last year," he said. "That's really exciting. We knew we were better and we really kind of proved it today."
           
Dunham noted that Central has several other runners pushing for a varsity position.
           
"Our depth is good," he said. "I think we're in a good place."                                 
           
Central travels to Grinnell for the 8,000-meter Les Duke Invitational next Saturday at 11 a.m. The Dutch were third in a 10-team field there last year. An even tougher field awaits this year, Dunham said.
           
"We're going to just focus on ourselves and getting better," he said. "We know that it's a process. We're trying to get ready for later in the year."