With a long summer of training behind them, the Santa Monica College Men's Cross Country team was eager to see how competitive they could be at the season opener, the Ventura Invitational.  When the dust settled, it became clear the men will be a team to be reckoned with this year.  Jason Derks and Daniel Redick led the way for the men with excellently paced races.  Terrence Luevano looked game in the three spot and will likely feel better on a flatter course.  Making the most of their experience to end up as scoring runners for the Corsairs, Zachary Stiegler ran with a great sense of pace, and Benito Rios overtook several teammates in the middle miles.  John Santiago and Oswald DeJesus both hit the first mile a bit too fast and paid the price in the last mile.  They can look forward to better times as their pacing and fitness improves.  Finishing in between those two, Daniel Ortiz ran tough in the fourth mile.  Kyle O'Loughlin missed a lot of summer practice, but he was game for this difficult course.  Finally, Hector Cruz bettered his time from last year by almost a minute.