GREEN BAY, Wisc. - The IU Indianapolis men's cross country team earned a runner-up finish at the 2024 Horizon League Cross Country Championships on Saturday (Nov. 2), trailing only a stout Youngstown State squad. Veteran Nate Kaiser finished third overall among 108 runners to earn First Team All-League honors, finishing the 8,000m race in a time of 24:24.2. Grant Moon nabbed the final spot on the league's second team by placing 14th overall at 24:59.2 and redshirt freshman Luke Shappell was 15th overall and the meet's top rookie at 25:02.6 to earn the league's Freshman of the Year award. 

Youngstown State put up a dominant effort with just 26 points to earn the team title while the Jaguars scrapped their way to the second-place finish. YSU's Hunter Christopher claimed the individual title at 24:11.2, clearing second place Natnael Weldemichael by nine seconds. 

"I'm really proud of the old guys for stepping up and propelling us to a runner-up finish," Kaiser said. "I'm especially proud of Luke for stepping up this year to solidify our top five. We are looking forward to finishing the season strong at (NCAA) Regionals."

YSU had the majority of the lead pack from the opening gun with Kaiser running amongst that group. Moon and Shappell were in among a secondary pack as a conservative pace kept large groups of competitors in the mix early. 

"We packed up well today and ran a patient race knowing the course's gentle rolling hills and turns would fatigue teams that ran too aggressively too early," head coach Justin Roeder said. "We have been focusing on these last two races all season, so I'm very happy to see them earn the runner-up trophy, continuing the streak of six straight years walking away from the conference meet with some hardware.

"I'm very pleased with the progress we've seen this year and excited for the future."

The remainder of the Jaguars' scoring five was veterans as Matt Mitsch was 18th overall at 25:10.3 and Mitchell Gits was 26th at 25:41.4. 

True freshman Riley Nixon was next in line as 38th at 25:59.4 and Joey Ashman was 46th at 26:11.1. Two more true rookies, Sam Grimes and Cameron Smith, crossed at 26:26.9 and 26:28.1, respectively. 

Ethan Walsh (26:40.7), Jay Pillai (26:49.1) and Joey LaPatra (27:20.1) rounded out the team entries. 

While the Jaguars graduate the bulk of the top of the lineup, seven of the Jaguars 12 entries at this year's championships were either redshirt freshmen or true freshmen. 

The Jaguars will compete at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Norton, Ohio, on Nov. 15.