CINCINNATI, Ohio - Nine of IUPUI's 14 entries notched new personal bests as the men's track team battled through tough conditions at the University of Cincinnati's Oliver Nikoloff Invitational at Gettler Stadium on Saturday (Apr. 2). Freshman James Kuisel recorded a school record time of 51.28 in the 400m event while Nate Kaiser paced a strong group in the 1,500m event. 

Later in the meet, Nick Perkins keyed the Jaguars' five entries in the 5,000m event. 

"Textbook is the best word to describe today's performances - nine personal bests and three sectional winners," head coach Justin Roeder said.

The Jaguars started well with five entries in the 1,500m event churning out four new personal bests. Nate Kaiser led the group at 3:55.86 to move to eighth on the program's all-time list while Eric Hoffman clocked a time of 3:56.40. Eric Petersen finished at 3:57.34, just missing a spot on the program's all-time top-10 list. Mitchell Rans spun a time of 3:58.96 and Keith Bye closed at 4:02.50. 

"The day started off strong with Kaiser, Hoffman, Petersen, Rans and Bye showing off the versatility of the distance program over the shorter events," Roeder said. 

In the 400, Kuisel notched a school record time of 51.28, taking three-quarters of a second off the prior best. In the 800m event, Matt Herren notched a personal best time of 1:58.59 and Jacob Williams crossed at 2:00.38. 

"In the men's 800, Williams and Herren ran fearless, pushing the pace early, which ultimately allowed Herren to hang on for the win," Roeder said. "I was excited to see Herren's breakthrough today. I know we are just scratching the surface with him."

The day ended with a flurry of Jaguars posting personal bests in the 5,000m event as Perkins led the way at 14:33.16. Freshman Will Clark finished at 15:02.53 and Wilson Whicker clocked a time of 15:11.67. Justin Amburgy also had a personal best time of 15:18.59. 

"It was awesome to conclude the meet with four out of five personal bests from Perkins, Clark, Whicker and Amburgy and Conor Fagan just missing his by a few clicks," Roeder said. "I'm absolutely thrilled with each of their race plans and execution to produce such a result."

Perkins was ultimately fourth overall in the event on Saturday. 

"I was coming off an Achilles injury and wasn't able to race Raleigh, so I was a little nervous coming into this meet, but conditions were perfect and everyone in the 5K crew had a fantastic run," Perkins said. "The support of my teammates and some old friends from high school also made this race feel a lot easier. Outside of the race, I'm excited to see how the rest of the season unravels for the team and how some of the younger guys continue to develop."

"I cannot say enough about the positive and encouraging culture exhibited on and off the track which allows these performances to occur," Roeder said. "We have something special building here and I cannot thank Coach Koeppen and Coach Miller enough for their tireless support throughout the year to get us to this point."

IUPUI will be back in action next weekend when the Jaguars compete in the Jim Vargo Invitational, hosted by Bellarmine on Apr. 8-9.