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CARMEL, Ind. - The IUPUI men's cross country team will open the 2019 season on Friday night (Aug. 30) when the Jaguars compete in the annual Butler Twilight at Northview Church. The men's 6K race is slated to begin at 7:15 and the Jaguars are expected to run against foes from Marian, Wabash and host Butler. 

The Jaguars enter this season brimming with confidence as head coach Chuck Koeppen has compiled a roster, blending some strong veterans with a flashy freshman class. The returners include captains Ben Savage, Eric Hoffman and Alex Ratkovich, all of whom showed flashes of brilliance a year ago. Jarit Perkins was the team's top performer at this meet last season, placing seventh overall in a time of 19:20.9. Savage was just off his pace at 19:29.0 and Brooks Long spun a time of 20:00.9 to also finish among the race's top 20. 

"I think we've got a pretty good team and they've really looked good during camp and our training sessions so far," Koeppen said. "It's going to be really competitive to be in our top five and our top seven and that's a really good thing in terms of having competition every day at practice and at every meet. 

"I think we've got pretty good leadership from our returners and we've got a freshman class that really wants to make their mark. It has the makings of being something really special."

Junior Dustin Starnes was the team's top finisher at last year's Horizon League Championships, followed closely by Ratkovich and Savage. Collectively, IUPUI put up a third-place finish at the league championships, but looks to move up later this season. Josh Everetts and Lucas Rhed have also shown well in preseason 

The strength of the Jaguars' recruiting class will play a major role in the team's success this season. Rookies Brennan Butche and Nate Kaiser come in the most highly touted, but as many as six different freshmen could play a role in the team lineup in 2019. Indianapolis-native Nick Perkins has also been strong during the preseason, as have Mitchell Gits and Mitchell Rans, among others. 

Things will begin to shake out with Friday's opener in Carmel. A full recap and results will be posted to IUPUIJags.com immediately afterwards.