Pittsburgh, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's cross country opened its 2012 campaign Saturday afternoon by taking part in the Duquesne Duals, which were hosted by Duquesne University at Schenley Park.

Providing the Colonials with a spark in their first meet of the season was freshman Ryan Brown (Spring Mills, Pa. / Penns Valley), who finished 17th individually with a time of 28:12 in his collegiate debut.

Also earning top 35 finishes for RMU were junior Fred Thompson (Turtle Creek, Pa. / Woodland Hills) and freshman Richard Lednak (Apollo, Pa. / Kiski Area).

Thompson crossed the finish line with a time of 29:09 to earn 29th place individually, while Lednak posted a time of 29:27 in his collegiate debut to earn 33rd place.

Rounding out the top five runners for Robert Morris were junior Nicolas Gentile (Sarver, Pa. / Freeport) and sophomore Darryl Jones (Blairsville, Pa. / Blairsville).

Gentile finished 42nd individually thanks to a time of 30:01, while Jones finished with a time of 30:56 to earn 48th place.

RMU returns to the course Saturday, Sept. 15, by taking part in the Buffalo Stampede in Buffalo, N.Y.