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CARMEL, Ind. - The IUPUI men's cross country team opened the 2018 season on Friday night, putting up a second-place finish at the Butler Twilight at Northview Church, just north of Indianapolis. Jarit Perkins led the way, placing seventh in the 6K race in a time of 19:20.9. 

"I thought it was a good start for our guys," head coach Chuck Koeppen said. "I was proud of Jarit for putting himself out there and going for it and leading us tonight. We redshirted some guys tonight, so that definitely hurt us in terms of points, but we're going to have to make some decisions on some guys as we go forward.

"We've got a great group of guys, but I think we're only going to get better as the season goes on. Tonight was about getting that first race under a lots of kids' belts and then we build from there."

Perkins was joined in the top-10 by sophomore Ben Savage, who placed tenth in a time of 19:29.0. 

The team's lone senior, Jeremy Breedlove, came in at 19:54.7 and redshirt freshman Brooks Long was 19th overall at 20:00.9. Lucas Rhed rounded out the scoring five in 31st place, finishing the race at 20:22.0. 

"The first race of the season is always a rust buster," Perkins said. "I felt good today, despite not the greatest conditions for a race. Everyone has so much anxiety and anticipation built up to perform well. I know that times were a little slow today for everybody, but it's early in the season and we have the talent to be a great team."

The race went out quick from the outset and temps in the eighties, coupled with the quick pace caused runners to fade late. Butler's Daniel Garcia, Bobby Johnson and Keane Barry finished in unison to take hte top three places. 

Butler coasted to the team title with 21 points while IUPUI was second with 68, two points clear of third-place Indianapolis. 

IUPUI will return to action next weekend when the Jaguars compete at the Vic Godfery Open in Kenosha, Wisc.

Team Standings
1. Butler - 21
2. IUPUI - 68
3. Indianapolis - 70
4. Purdue Fort Wayne - 109
5. DePaul - 133
6. Wabash - 140
7. Marian - 173

Individual Standings
7. Jarit Perkins - 19:20.9
10. Ben Savage - 19:29.0
15. Jeremy Breedlove - 19:54.7
19. Brooks Long - 20:00.9
32. Lucas Rhed - 20:22.0
34. Josh Everetts - 20:25.9
36. Dustin Starnes - 20:31.3
46. Jake McCullough - 20:44.0
53. Andrius Kriauciunas - 21:06.6
63. Noah Kramer - 21:29.0
64. Dakota Merkel - 21:29.6
66. Will Emery - 21:37.7
82. Brandon Will - 23:05.3