OXFORD, Ohio - The IU Indianapolis men's track team opened the outdoor season with 12 personal bests at Miami University's Blizzard Buster on Friday (Mar. 20), competing in just three events to open the campaign at the George Rider Track. 

The Jaguars opened the day with five personal bests in the 1,500m event, headlined by Eli Oetken's third-place finish. Oetken made a late move to close third overall in the fastest of the three heats, crossing in a time of 3:59.94. Alec Hueftle was next in line in that race at 4:11.17 and Joey LaPatra clocked a personal best time of 4:11.58. In heat two, freshman Zach Risner clocked a new personal best effort of 4:07.30 and TJ Gorman spun a time of 4:10.67. In the third race, sophomore Zane Schorr surged late to a time of 4:10.18. 

"I thought it was okay. I didn't think it was anything special," Oetken said of his outdoor opener. "I definitely thought I had more left in the tank compared to the competition and I finished it out strong. I'm excited to see how the season progresses."

In the 3,000m event, all five Jaguar entrants were running the distance for the first-time ever in their outdoor careers, all collecting personal bests. Nolan King led the way with an 8:45.63 effort, just five seconds off the school record. Freshman Evan Farmer clocked a time of 8:52.49 and Carter Schorr also went under nine minutes at 8:58.02. 

The Jaguars closed the day with strong showings in the 800m event, beginning with junior Luke Shappell's runner-up effort in the fastest heat. Shappell crossed at 1:52.79 with sophomore Riley Nixon finishing at 1:54.44. Jaydon Steidinger rounded out the fast heat entries with a time of 1:57.54. In the second heat, Hueftle doubled back off the earlier 1,500 with a winning time of 1:56.68, setting a new personal best. 

The Jaguars will return to action next weekend when they split competitors between the WashU. Distance Carnival in St. Louis and the nearby Marian Knight Open.