Final Results (.pdf) I Photo Gallery

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The IUPUI men's cross country team used a deep, talented bunch to run to their first-ever Horizon League title at Valhalla Cross Country Course on Saturday (Nov. 2), easily outdistancing second-place Oakland by 19 points. Sophomore Alex Ratkovich ran his way a first team All-Horizon League award with a sixth-place finish to lead the way while freshman Brennan Butche earned the league's Freshman of the Year award by virtue of his eighth-place finish. 

Two others, Nate Kaiser and Ben Savage, also earned second team All-Horizon League honors and sophomore Eric Hoffman rounded out the Jaguars' scoring five, placing 17th of 89 runners. 

By winning the program's first-ever Horizon League title, head coach Chuck Koeppen was voted the league's Coach of the Year. 

"I'm really proud of our guys, especially those two freshmen up front," Koeppen said. "This has been the goal all year long. The guys had their sights set on this meet ever since Parkside last year. I was really proud that we went out and just put ourselves in position right from the opening gun. We had a pack of guys out there who were hungry to get the job done. I couldn't be happier and this means a lot for our guys and our program."

Almost like a swarm of bees, IUPUI was relentless from the outset, positioning well right off the bat. Over the course of the race, as some slid back, others moved up and the Jags had plenty of insurance beyond their top five. 

In fact, the Jaguars' Nos. 6, 7 and 8 runners - Austin Ohm, Dustin Starnes and Jarit Perkins - all finished ahead of Oakland's fifth runner, helping displace their closest competition's score. Even beyond Perkins, the Jags had Brooks Long finish just three spots and seven seconds later. 

IUPUI had just a 24 second spread in its top five and a 53 second spread among the top seven. 

"That's the strength of our team. The strength is in our pack and these guys run for one another," Koeppen said. 

Oakland's Connor Goetz edged Wright State's Nathan Dunn for the individual title, finishing in a time of 24:06.7. 

The conference crown was the third in the Jaguars' program history as IUPUI won Summit League titles under Koeppen in 2014 and 2015. Butche becomes the fifth runner in program history to collect Newcomer or Freshman of the Year honors, joining a group that includes Rabah Rahil (2003), Isaiah White (2014), Jacob Stamm (2016) and David Ehlers (2017).

The Jags will continue the 2019 campaign at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Verona, Wisc., on Friday, Nov. 15. 

Team Results
1. IUPUI - 53
2. Oakland - 72
3. Youngstown State - 77
4. Milwaukee - 78
5. Wright State - 142
6. UIC - 156
7. Detroit Mercy - 157
8. Northern Kentucky - 216
9. Green Bay - 262

Individual Results
6. Alex Ratkovich - 24:31.2
8. Brennan Butche - 24:38.4
10. Nate Kaiser - 24:45.0
12. Ben Savage - 24:47.3
17. Eric Hoffman - 24:55.8
25. Austin Ohm - 25:13.9
30. Dustin Starnes - 25:24.0
31. Jarit Perkins - 25:27.2
34. Brooks Long - 25:34.6
44. Josh Whitaker - 25:49.8
45. Josh Everetts - 25:51.6
59. Lucas Rhed - 26:18.5