Blue Race Results (.pdf) I Open Race Results (.pdf) I Photo Gallery

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -  Running against some of the nation's elite, the IUPUI men's cross country team finished 13th of 20 teams at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Cross Country Invite on Friday afternoon (Oct. 2), tallying 335 points. UTEP won the team scoring with 89 points, edging NC State's 97-point effort. 

Colorado State (126), Southern Utah (134) and Purdue (169) rounded out the top five teams. 

Junior Damon Pruett was IUPUI's top finisher in the 5-mile race, finishing 33rd overall in a time of 24:25.8. Pruett's time eclipsed the school record of 24:32.57, set by Aaron Kremer back in 2010, but is not eligible for a school record because it's categorized as a 5-mile event, slightly longer than a standard 8K.

"I'm really happy for Damon and really proud of him. He's become a rock for us and showed it again today. He's been really tough, going back to last track season," IUPUI Head Coach Chuck Koeppen said. "He was tough the whole race today against some really tough runners."

Behind him, junior Robert Murphy was 56th in a time of 24:45.6. Murphy, came on strong late, picking off runners over the final mile.

Dakota Dubbs ran a time of 24:54.8 to place 78th and Connor Sorrells was 82nd at 24:58.7. Sorrells started strong and was among the top-25 in the first mile, but faded late in the race. South Bend-native Joey Zielinski rounded out the Jaguars' top five in a time of 25:01.5, placing 91st overall. 

Looking to add some potential points towards a postseason at-large bid, IUPUI finished behind four of the five nationally ranked teams in the field. The Jaguars did easily outdistance No. 18 Arizona State, which finished 19th of the 20-team field. 

UTEP's Anthony Rotich took the individual tape in a time of 23:49.1, edging Purdue's Matt McClintock by less than a second.

In the open race, senior Mitch Hubner led the Jaguars' three entries with a time of 26:00.2, placing 33rd of 119 runners. 

IUPUI will split the squad in two weeks in the final regular season primer when the Jaguars compete in both the Bradley "Pink" Classic (Oct. 16) and Pre-Nationals in Louisville (Oct. 17). 

Team Standings
1. UTEP - 89
2. #27 NC State - 97
3. #26 Colorado State - 126
4. #23 Southern Utah - 134
5. Purdue - 169
6. Eastern Michigan - 190
7. Texas A&M - 218
8. Navy - 225
9. #17 New Mexico - 230
10. Notre Dame - 239
11. Penn - 243
12. Florida - 278
13. IUPUI - 335
14. Bradley - 379
15. Indiana State - 391
16. Missouri - 405
17. UC Santa Barbara - 433
18. Illinois State - 434
19. #18 Arizona State - 473
20. Iowa - 481

Individual Results
33. Damon Pruett - 24:25.8
56. Robert Murphy - 24:45.6
78. Dakota Dubbs - 24:54.8
82. Connor Sorrells - 24:58.7
91. Joey Zielinski - 25:01.5
121. Peyton Reed - 25:20.5
124. Max Zmija - 25:24.8
148. Miguel Lozano - 25:59.2
167. Adam Guth - 28:41.4

Open Race Results
33. Mitch Hubner - 26:00.2
54. Jeremy Breedlove - 26:30.0
64. Joel Thompson - 26:49.9