Full Results (.pdf) I Photo Gallery I Chuck Koeppen Interview I Connor Sorrells Interview

CARMEL, Ind. - The IUPUI men's cross country team put together a workmanlike effort in dominating the season-opening Butler Opener at Northview Church, posting a perfect 15-point effort. Including unattached entries, IUPUI accounted for the meet's top 11 finishers, claiming an easy win over Butler and Marian. Six Jaguars crossed the finish line at nearly the same time with sophomore Connor Sorrells earning the individual victory at 18:57.7.

Peyton Reed, Joey Zielinski, Damon Pruett, Robert Murphy and Dakota Dubbs all finished within a second of the lead.

"That was kind of what we were expecting," IUPUI Head Coach Chuck Koeppen said. "We've got the best (IUPUI) team ever and a couple of new kids that have joined us. It's just a great group and I expect great things from these guys.

"They've worked really hard. Everybody on the team from the first to the last guy have worked hard over the summer and came in and reported in shape and have worked hard since then. We've got some talent. I wasn't surprised but I certainly was very happy to see the results."

Sorrells became the fifth individual to win a cross country race in IUPUI history, while the meet win was the ninth in program history and the sixth since Koeppen took over the program in 2009. The perfect 15-point effort was the second in program history as IUPUI also claimed the top five spots in a three-team meet in Fort Wayne back in September 2013.

IUPUI, which came in ranked No. 9 in the Great Lakes Region, took control of the meet from the opening gun as the Jaguars front pack worked together, even through an opening sub-five minute mile. As the heat and humidity thinned the competition, the Jaguars front group ran steady all the way to the end.

As the front six made the final turn towards the finishing chute, the team made a concerted effort to fan out and cross the finish line in unison.

"It tells me that they've been listening to what we've been talking about in being a team," Koeppen said. "We've got a lot of Alpha males out there on that team and a lot of these kids were all No. 1 men on their high school teams.

"That's what it takes to be a good cross country team - it takes chemistry. I think these kids have chemistry."

Sorrells and Reed both finished at 18:57 while the next four crossed at 18:58. Max Zmija finished ninth at 19:23.3 and senior Miguel Lozano was tenth at 19:23.7.

"It's fun to be out here on a team full of dudes that are trying to do some cool things and who double as a bunch of best friends. We all ran pretty well," Sorrells, a Furman-transfer, said. "Even the last 2K, we were kind of chatting and encouraging each other, so that was cool."

The Jaguars will next toe the line when they participate in the annual Indiana Intercollegiates on Sept. 18 in Terre Haute, Ind..

Team Standings
1. IUPUI - 15
2. Butler - 81
3. Marian - 93

Individual Standings
1. Connor Sorrells - 18:57.7
2. Peyton Reed - 18:57.8
3. Joey Zielinski - 18:58.0
4. Damon Pruett - 18:58.2
5. Robert Murphy - 18:58.2
6. Dakota Dubbs - 18:58.8
9. Max Zmija - 19:23.3
10. Miguel Lozano - 19:23.7
16. Adam Guth - 19:42.3
19. Jeremy Breedlove - 19:56.2
22. Mitch Hubner - 20:15.7