ROCHESTER, Mich. - The IUPUI men's track and field team opened the 2022 #HLTF Outdoor Championships strong on Friday night (May 6), stockpiling 21 points and placing three runners in the finals of the 1,500m event on day one of the three-day championships. Nate Kaiser and Eric Petersen finished second and third in the 10,000m event respectively while graduate transfer Will Berning placed fifth in the javelin throw. 

Given the team participates in just a few events overall, head coach Justin Roeder's team knew it had to make hay on Friday night. The Jaguars responded, putting three among the scoring eight in the 10K and getting critical points from Berning. In addition, three others qualified for Sunday's finals in the 1,500m event. 

The 10K turned out to be a thriller as Kaiser and Petersen took aim at league favorite, Oakland's Connor Goetz, under the lights. A large lead pack continually clicked off lap after lap until Nick Perkins moved to the front with roughly 10 laps remaining. Perkins pushed the pace, ultimately whittling the lead pack down to roughly seven individuals. Goetz, Kaiser and Petersen setup a final sprint for the final 800 meters with Goetz finally outlasting Kaiser down the stretch, crossing at 30:28.10. Kaiser was just behind him at 30:29.29 and Petersen claimed third at 30:34.98. Perkins gutted out a sixth-place finish at 30:51.11 and Mitchell Rans was 14th at 32:37.12. Justin Amburgy was just behind him at 32:48.71 and Conor Fagan finished at 33:47.15. 

Earlier on the track, IUPUI showed well in the 1,500m prelims as Eric Hoffman ran a controlled time of 4:02.94 to finish second in his race and earn an automatic berth in the finals. Freshman Will Clark has to wait out the second race to ensure his spot in the finals after placing fifth in his race in a time of 4:03.99 to earn a wild card spot. Keith Bye also earned a wild card spot, finishing fifth in his race in a time of 4:03.36. Solomon Barket ran an impressive time of 4:06.99, just missing a spot in the finals. 

Earlier in the day, Berning finished fifth in the javelin throw with a best launch of 54.72m (179-06). 

IUPUI finished the day second in the team standings with 21 points, trailing only Youngstown State's 48 counters. Action will resume on Saturday with the meet being broadcast on ESPN+ and live results on IUPUIJags.com.