FAIRBORN, Ohio - IUPUI veterans Nate Kaiser and Andrew Whitinger took the top two spots of 176 runners at Friday's Mike Baumer XC Classic at Fairborn Community Park, site of the 2023 #HLXC Championships. The Jaguars just missed picking off Ohio State, falling to the Buckeyes by just two points in a second-place finish. 

Kaiser, who redshirted last cross country season, made a triumphant return by covering the course in a time of 14:45.7. Just behind him was Whitinger, who made his IUPUI debut with a time of 14:48.6. Kaiser was the Horizon League individual champion in both the 5K and 10K at the league's outdoor championships last spring while Whitinger comes to IUPUI after a stellar career at Purdue Fort Wayne. 

"It was great to sneak peek of conference course early in the season," Kaiser said. "We knew it was a rust buster, so we stayed conservative and pushed when it felt right. It's good to have a better idea where we are as a team and feel confident as we build to the bigger races."

Will Clark placed tenth overall at 15:02.9 and Eric Petersen finished at 15:03.9 to take 12th. Grant Moon rounded out IUPUI's top five in a time of 15:04.4 to place 13th. 

And while the Jaguars were talented at the top of the lineup, depth was in line as Mitchell Rans, Deion Guise and Nick Perkins all finished among the top-30. Rans crossed at 15:12.5 and Guise finished at 15:15.8 to place 26th and Perkins was immediately behind him at 15:18.4. Mitchell Gits and Jack Acton rounded out the team's top 10 finishers. 

Ohio State put five finishers among the race's top 11 to collect the team victory while the Jaguars easily outdistanced third-place Dayton by 40 points. 

IUPUI will next compete at its own Jaguar Invitational on Friday, Sept. 15 at the Blue River Cross Country Course in Shelbyville, Ind., scheduled for 6:00 p.m.