The Mick Byrne Era began in perfect -- albeit it low-key -- fashion Saturday as the University of Wisconsin men's cross country team dominated the Northern Illinois Huskie Open at DeKalb, Ill.

 Byrne's decision to throw the young runners on the roster he inherited from former coach Jerry Schumacher into the mix to start the season off worked well. And  thte Badgers' new coach was more than pleased with the overall competition.

"Despite the poor weather, it was a great race today" Byrne said  after watching sophomore Ryan Craven,  junior Ryan Gasper, freshman Elliot Krause and senior Christian Wagner cross the finish line as a team in 26 minutes, 40 seconds.

"Our older guys took control by running with the younger guys in order to lead the way and set a nice pace. It was really great to see the teammates run together and work so well so early in the season."

Marquette's Blake Johnson finished fifth individually, but the Golden Eagles did not have the requistie five runners to figure into the team scoring. So the No. 5 position among team runners went to UW junior Tim Pierie, who finished 30 seconds behind his first four teammates.

 The Badgers ran three freshmen and left out some of the strongest runners on the team, leaving plenty of room for improvement as they look ahead to their next competition. That will come Sept. 27 at Sean
Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago.

"We are right where we want to be right now," Byrne said. "We have guys running well and no one was overworked themselves because they were controlled and smart while running. From here we are going to take it on a week by week basis and I'm excited for the rest of the season."

For complete results from the Northern Illinois race, click here.