When Joe Hoffman came to IUPUI beginning in the fall of 2007, there were exactly eight runners on the men’s cross country roster. Spearheaded by a horse at the top of the lineup in Brad Wheeler and an incredible effort by classmate Aaron Kremer, the Jaguars placed third in The Summit League Championships with 97 points in late October of that season. However, that same season included a meet where the Jaguars ran just five student-athletes and the year ended with only six competing in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Meet in Bloomington.

Needless to say, that won’t happen again – not on Head Coach Chuck Koeppen’s watch. Heading into what will be his fifth year with the program, Hoffman could be the headliner on a roster of 20 guys this fall.

Koeppen is confident the added depth is part of the recipe for success as the Jaguars continue to seek that elusive first conference crown.

“We’re headed in that direction,” said Koeppen, who won 23 IHSAA state titles in track and cross country at Carmel High School before coming to IUPUI in December 2008. “Not to knock my good friend Scotty (Williams), but this is the best recruiting class this program’s ever had. And there’s a lot of them. We’ve got a lot of really good kids coming in.”

As junior #J.D. Smith# can attest, Koeppen generally converts depth to quality depth. Smith won a state title while running for Koeppen at Carmel, before coming to IUPUI in 2009.

“He’s used to having more guys than what we’ve had here,” Smith said. “I think my senior year (at Carmel), we had close to 100 on the team. While 20 isn’t 100, it’s sure more than eight. It doesn’t make it any easier, but it’s nice to know there will be a lot more talented guys to rely on.”

Koeppen’s not in the business of bringing just anyone to campus to wear the IUPUI red, gold and black though.

After losing just two seniors from this past year’s squad, five highly touted in-state preps have signed for 2011 and at least five more are planning on joining the squad as non-scholarship student-athletes. Add to that Hoffman, who missed all of this past season due to injury and the Jaguars are undoubtedly positioned to improve on last year’s fourth-place Summit League finish.

Depth and talent are at an all-time high. The difference is, team success no longer hinges upon one runner.

“Of course, we like to have guys pack it up and push each other in races, but I’m not opposed to having those guys up near the front too.

“If Joe comes back like I think he does, he’s going to compete for an all-conference spot,” Koeppen said. “I don’t see anybody stopping J.D. (Smith) from being an all-conference guy again and he’s going to compete for a top seven spot (in The Summit League). Dustin Neff is pretty darn good too. We’re going to be pretty darn good.”

It took Koeppen just a couple seconds to rattle off names of three others that could be IUPUI’s top runner at any given meet next season. Ricky Warren… Austin Young… Ryan Cutter.

“If you look back on this year’s track results, we had about six or seven guys that led us in different meets. That’s how this spring went,” Koeppen said. “Look at our team and it was No. 8 pushing No. 7 and No. 7 pushing No. 6 and so on. Now, we’re looking at a scenario where No. 20 is pushing No. 19 and No. 18 and so on, and there’s more talent overall there. That’s where the success will come from.”

Hoffman, who was a First Team All-Summit Leaguer two years ago, will be one of two seniors on next year’s squad and sees immediate benefits to the larger roster size.

“With more runners, you’re able to push a little more in practice and in workouts,” Hoffman said. “When you’ve only got eight or nine guys, you have to be a little more cautious because if two or three go down with injuries, you can’t succeed. With the way college cross country is scored, you have to have nine or 10 guys that can run, not necessarily with the lead pack, but in the front half of the race.

“Hopefully by the end of the year, you know who your top seven guys are and they know how to push each other.”

Smith attributes running in packs to his past individual successes.

“The way it works out, when you’re in a group of your own guys, you all kind of feed off each other,” Smith said. “When I look back at my best races, I was either running with or a couple steps behind a teammate and was doing everything I could possibly do to stay with them.”

Koeppen will also enjoy a new found flexibility with the roster.

“Not everybody is going to have to run every meet,” Koeppen said. “We’re going to be able to keep ‘em fresher over the course of the season.

“Or, take a guy like Pryce (Ragains) from this year. He came in and ran around No. 8 for us this year and did a nice job. But, we had to run him. With more guys on the team, maybe two or three could redshirt and continue to improve. That’s an option.”

Ragains, a sophomore, earned a roster spot through a preseason time trial last fall and emerged over the course of the year. This year, he’s squarely in the fold and will be fighting for a top seven slot.

"I think it's awesome," Ragains said of the larger group of teammates. "I definitely think with the bigger roster, it gives much more opportunities to get people like myself or Jeff Vibbert, who didn't necessarily sign with a bigger group. Just increasing the numbers gives you the chance to bring in guys that'll come in and work to become much better runners.

"I've always believed you're only as good as the people around you."

For the elder statesman Hoffman, who was recruited to IUPUI by former coach Scott Williams, this year’s team is a stark contrast to the team he joined in ’07.

“More than anything, it’s going to be a different dynamic. There’s a lot of talent coming in and these guys have a lot of potential. They’re all really good runners. I think that’s what Coach Koeppen’s philosophy was at Carmel (High School) and he obviously had a lot of success there. Now he’s just trying to incorporate it here.”

One of the few questions that remain is whether or not 20 guys can stay happy competing for just seven spots.

“Ask me that in November,” Koeppen said. “Maybe we will have a couple guys who are unhappy who’ll think about transferring. I hope not and I don’t think that’ll be the case, but we really won’t know until we get to November or December.”

"It all depends on the person," Ragains said. "Some people are complacent just being on the team and some people are complacent just being faster than a couple of their teammates, but I'm hoping that's not the case. I would hope that the 18th, 19th and 20th runners would be working hard to maybe get in the top 10."

Koeppen knows most everyone's happy when you accomplish the ultimate goal - winning.

“I want a (Summit League) championship ring. That’s the goal. I think Mike (Moore) shares that goal and knows we can get it done,” Koeppen said. “I want to compete with Purdue and Indiana State, and maybe down the road with Indiana. But first, I want that Summit League championship.

“I think you’re going to see a big improvement. We’ve just got good kids. They work hard and we don’t have to worry about them getting in trouble or not doing well in the classroom. They just work really hard and want to be good runners.”

June 8 – Men’s Cross Country (JAGS LOOKING TO BIGGER ROSTER FOR LOWER SCORES IN 2011)
June 15 – Men’s Tennis
June 22 – Women’s Golf
June 29 – Softball
July 6 – Men’s Swimming & Diving
July 13 – Women’s Basketball
July 20 – Men’s Golf
July 27 – Women’s Swimming & Diving
Aug. 3 – Women’s Cross Country
Aug. 10 – Women’s Soccer
Aug. 17 – Men’s Soccer
Aug. 24 – Volleyball
Aug. 31 – Men’s Basketball
Sept. 7 – Women’s Tennis