OXFORD, Ohio - The IUPUI men's track team officially opened up its outdoor season on Friday (Mar. 22) with an annual rust buster at the Miami Blizzard Buster. Despite the cold temps, the Jaguars put up some hot times to start the season, keyed by senior Eric Petersen's effort in the 1,500. 

Petersen was the top attached finisher and second overall in the event with a solid time of 3:52.39, putting him No. 3 on the program's all-time list. Behind him, true freshman Luke Shappell crossed at 3:52.94 and Andrew Whitinger finished at 3:53.39. 

True freshman Noah Price spun a time of 3:59.53 and Mitchell Gits was just behind him at 3:59.76. 

"We are super fit and in a good spot," Petersen said. "Today was a very encouraging rust buster to practice our tactics. It was a good chance to all race each other as teammates in the same event for fun too."

In the steeplechase, the Jaguars ran out a new look crew with Jack Acton placing second overall in a time of 9:53.95. Freshman Nolan King ran 10:03.31 and Wilson Whicker clocked a time of 10:16.31. 

The Jaguars will be back in action next weekend when they compete at the Raleigh Relays and WashU Distance Carnival.