ROCHESTER, Mich. - The IUPUI men's track team showcased some of its distance depth on the opening night of the Horizon League Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday night (May 3), securing three of the top six spots in the 10,000m event to stack up 14 points. Senior Andrew Whitinger collected a third-place finish, nipping teammate Eric Petersen at the line. Nick Perkins, who led much of the early stages of the race, placed sixth overall. 

Youngstown State took the top two spots in the 10K with Hunter Christopher winning at 30:04.03 and Ryan Meadows separating from a pack of four runners late to claim second at 30:10.25. Whitinger crossed at 30:12.46 while Petersen was fourth at 30:12.86, setting a new personal best time by 22 seconds. Perkins, who paced Christopher for the opening half of the race, crossed at 30:33.84. 

Junior Grant Moon finished 11th at 31:30.86 and Mitchell Rans spun a time of 32:29.77 to finish 13th. 

Earlier in the evening, freshman Luke Shappell punched a ticket into the finals of the 1,500m event with a runner-up finish in his heat with a time of 3:53.97. Junior Will Clark just missed a spot in the finals with a time of 3:57.32, shedding a half second off his previous best mark. 

Freshman Noah Price ran 4:02.56 and Solomon Barket spun a time of 4:06.61. Sophomore Ethan Walsh ran a personal best time of 4:08.27, taking 10 seconds off his previous best. 

The Jaguars will return to action on Saturday with entrants in the 800m event and 3,000m steeplechase.