YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The IUPUI men's track and field team displayed some distance dominance on the opening day of the 2022 Horizon League Indoor Championships at Youngstown State's Watson and Tressel Training Site on Saturday (Feb. 26). The Jaguars took five of the top eight spots in the 5,000m events, highlighted by an individual win from Eric Hoffman, who clocked a new school record time of 14:16.21. 

In doing so, he shed two seconds off a four-year old school record and obliterated his personal best time by 19 seconds, outgunning Oakland's Connor Goetz for the top spot. 

"It was a great team performance overall. We executed the coaches' plan almost perfectly," Hoffman said. "These guys have pushed me on a daily basis, which has allowed me to compete at such a high level. Getting another (individual) title and breaking the school record is a surreal feeling, but we have still more work to do."

Nate Kaiser crossed in fourth-place at 14:31.12 and Jaguars also captured sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth-place to load up on points. Mitchell Rans was sixth with a personal best time of 14:34.17 and Alex Ratkovich was seventh at 14:34.44, taking 26 seconds off his prior best. Grant Moon placed eighth at 14:39.51 for a 14-second PR and Nick Perkins clocked a time of 14:44.40 to shed 11 seconds off his prior best. 

"The men's 5K was textbook when it came to racing strategy," head coach Justin Roeder said. "I couldn't be more pleased with their race execution. We told them to stay out of trouble early on and work together throughout the early stages of the race."

"Hoffman exhibited why he was athlete of the meet in 2020 with his performance tonight. With that performance, he surpasses IUPUI legend Robert Murphy's school record. While Eric took the title, I have to give a huge shoutout to Oakland's Connor Goetz for pulling the entire field and our entire team to fast times."

Earlier in the day, freshman James Kuisel lowered his own school record in the 400m event with a time of 50.24. 

"We were thrilled with today's performances to say the least," Roeder said. "The two school records and multiple personal best performances were great, but seeing the immense amount of support and respect these guys showed, cheering for their teammates really makes me proud."

In the 800, Alex Alba notched a personal best time of 1:57.09, just missing a qualifying spot in the finals. Jacob Williams spun a time of 2:01.04. Freshman Awaal Adedokun ran a personal best time in the 200m event at 24.37 as well. 

The Jaguars' distance medley relay team of Wilson Whicker, Kuisel, Keith Bye and Josh Everetts placed sixth overall in a time of 10:43.20. 

"The DMR ran solid to secure us a few more key points heading into tomorrow," Roeder said. "With some minor setbacks due to COVID and injuries, we are really limited to just a few select events, so I'm very appreciative to Wilson, Keith, James and Josh for securing some necessary points in the DMR. 

"They definitely stepped out of their comfort level in race distances to focus on the team's ambition, versus their own."

The Jaguars stockpiled 24 points on Saturday and will look to duplicate efforts on Sunday, primarily in the 3,000m event. Sunday's events will begin at 11:00 a.m. and coverage will be provided on ESPN+.