ROCHESTER, Mich. - Two members of the IUPUI men's track team punched tickets to Sunday's finals of the 800m event on day two of the #HLTF Outdoor Championships at Oakland University on Saturday (May 4). 

Senior Alex Alba opened with a personal best time of 1:55.22 and a runner-up finish in his heat, forcing him to play the waiting game. Freshman Luke Shappell followed with an automatic qualification to the finals by winning his heat in a time of 1:53.85, thanks largely to a late kick on the final stretch. Alba ultimately qualified in seventh with just more than a half second to spare over the ninth-place qualifier. 

Freshman Jay Pillai popped a big personal record with a time of 1:57.54, breaking his prior best by nearly six seconds. Ethan Walsh also set a new personal best for a second straight day at 2:01.30. 

The Jaguars just missed adding to the point total at night's end as Nolan King placed tenth in the 3,000m steeplechase and junior Jack Acton finished 11th. Freshman Nicholas Probst placed 13th overall. King overtook Acton on the final lap to finish at 9:44.70, breaking his prior best mark by eight seconds. Acton ran 9:49.98 and Probst came in at 10:02.29 to break his previous record by three seconds. 

IUPUI sits fifth among the eight competing teams with 14 points heading into Sunday's finale. Youngstown State leads the field at 116 points while Milwaukee is second with 72. 

The Jaguars will wrap up action on Sunday (May 5) on ESPN+.