Soon after finishing second and third in Saturday's Rocky Mountain Shootout invitational cross country race on CU's Buffalo Ranch course, Jordan Kyle and Chris Pannone were standing near the finishing area chatting about their race.

Kyle, a transfer student from Indiana, was talking about how his first race at altitude felt.

Suddenly, a stern voice coming across the finishing chute interrupted their recap: "Come on guys, let's go!" barked University of Colorado head coach Mark Wetmore. "We have work to do."

That's how it was for the Colorado runners at the Shootout, which was held on campus in south Boulder.

While Wetmore was pleased with the altitude debut of Kyle, and Buffalo Ranch personal bests from Pannone and Christian Smith that highlighted an all-around good morning his team, Wetmore knows there is much to do as the Buffs prepare for the big races coming next month.

"We had a good day," Wetmore said. "I was very happy across the board. We might be a little bit ahead of where I hoped we would be."

Colorado faced a good field at the Shootout, with top-five Division 2 teams Adams State and Western challenging CU, which did not race top runners Kenyon Neuman and Bradley Harkrader.

Kyle and Pannone led much of the men's race, with only Aaron Braun of Adams State, second in the national D-2 cross country championships, staying right behind. Just before the 3-mile mark, Braun put in a surge that gave him a lead that he kept though the finish, clocking in at 25 minutes, 4 seconds for the 8K .

Kyle, who moved to Boulder in June, finished in 25:20, with Pannone right behind. Thompson, a steeplechaser in track, placed sixth, with Matt Tebo (eighth) and Nick Miller (11th) also scoring for CU.

"I didn't know what to expect," Kyle said. "About three-quarters into the race it got a little tough. The last hill was tough to get up."

None of the Buffs in the women's race knew what to expect on the varsity level. With Olympian Jenny Barringer on the sidelines cheering on her teammates as she and Wetmore ponder a possible redshirt fall, the CU women are young and inexperienced. None have run in the top seven for CU in past years, and none have competed in the NCAA championships, assistant coach Heather Burroughs recounted afterwards.

However, Colorado showed good promise and potential. The women ran in a pack in the early going, letting former Fairview runner Alexis Skarda of Mesa State take the early lead. CU stayed close, and in the end, junior Emily Hanenburg was the first Buff in, using a strong last mile to place fifth. She ran 21:55 for the 5.8K, with CU-Colorado Spring senior Shannon Payne winning in 21:25.

This was the first Shootout since 1991 in which a Buff did not win either a men's or women's individual Shootout title.

Barringer still deciding

American steeplechase record holder Jenny Barringer is back doing easy running after taking a complete break after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She has not had a training break since her sophomore season at CU.

"It will be a tough decision," Barringer said of taking a redshirt season this fall. She said she did not want her decision to take attention away from her younger teammates ...

Brad Hudson of Eugene, Ore., was in town watching the Shootout. He is the coach of ex-Buff and two-time Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein, as well as Boulder's James Carney and ex-Buff Tera Moody (fifth in the U.S. Olympic trials marathon). Hudson, author of the just-published "Run Faster," said he expects "Ritz" to run a marathon on a fast course this spring, perhaps in London. Hudson gave Wetmore kudos, saying "Mark is the best developer of talent in the nation."

Rocky Mountain Shootout

OPEN MALE 8K

Top 5 -- 1. Scott Dahlberg 25:34, 2. Tommy Neal 25:48, 3. Adam Rich 26:09, 4. Brett Walters 26:17, 5. Joe Bosshard 26:19.

OPEN FEMALE 5.8K

Top 5 -- 1. Freya Murray 21:09, 2. Melody Fairchild 22:00, 3. Noelle Green 22:35, 4. Lindsey Mills 22:36, 5. Ashely Birger 22:48.

COLLEGIATE MEN'S 8K

Division I teams -- 1. Colorado 17, 2. Air Force 42, 3. Northern Colorado 80.

Non-Division I teams -- 1. Adams State 20, 2. Western State 36, 3. Metro 83, 4. CU-Colorado Springs 141, 5. Colorado College 151, 6. Garden City CC 153, 7. Gillette College 221, 8. Regis 227.

Top 5 -- 1. Aaron Brown, Adams State, 25:04; 2. Jordan Kyle, Colorado, 25:20; 3. Chris Pannone, Colorado, 25:22; 4. Ryan McNiff, Adams State, 25:28; 5. Tyler Pennel, Western State College, 25:40.

Other CU results -- 6. Christian Thompson 25:43, 8. Matt Tebo 25:48, 11. Nick Miller 26:19, 12. Andy Wacker 26:21.

COLLEGIATE WOMEN'S 5.8K

Division I teams -- 1. Colorado 15, 2. Air Force 63, 3. Northern Colorado 63.

Non-Division II teams -- 1. Adams State 53, 2. Western State 56, 3. Mesa State 66, 4. CU-Colorado Springs 92, 5. Metro State 105, 6. Regis 142, 7. Colorado College 198, 8. Garden City CC 236, 9. Colorado Christian 252, 10. CSU-Pueblo 279.

Top 5 -- 1. Shannon Payne, CU-Colorado Springs, 21:25; 2. Lavenna Mullenbach, Adams State, 21:33; 3. Alexis Skarda, Mesa State College, 21:49; 4. Sofia Monroe, Adams State, 21:51; 5. Emily Hanenburg, Colorado, 21:52.

Other CU results -- 6. Allison Sawyer 22:07, 7. Morgan Ekemo 22:10, 8. Emma Coburn 22:13, 9. Esmeralda Martinez-Ramos 22:28, 10. Laura Thweatt 22:31, 11. Katie Cumming 22:33, 13. Kaylen Slack 22:41.