INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI Athletics Department and Head Cross Country and Track Coach Chuck Koeppen has announced the signing of four in-state preps to National Letters of Intent to join the Jaguars, beginning in Fall 2012. The quartet of Mitch Hubner (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte), Miguel Lozano (Mishawaka, Ind./Mishawaka), Sam Roudebush (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) and Joey Zielinski (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph) all finished among the top seven at the IHSAA Cross Country State Championship meet last fall and will have four years of eligibility beginning next season.

"I couldn't be more excited. It's like hitting the lottery," Koeppen said. "They're all really great kids and great students. Overall, they're just terrific people and come from really terrific families.

"They're going to do a lot of good things for our program and they've already done good things for our program by committing. They're going to help put us on the map. Anyone who knows anything about running in this state has been congratulating me."

Hubner has enjoyed a standout career at LaPorte High School where he was runner-up at the IHSAA State Meet in Terre Haute as a senior. He won the New Prairie Invitational along with sectional, regional and semi-state titles before finishing second to the Gatorade National Runner of the Year Futsum Zeinasellassie in the state finals and later earning a spot on the Indiana Cross Country All-Star team. He was a four-time All-Duneland Athletic Conference performer along with being a four-time All-Sectional and All-Regional finisher. Overall, he won two sectional and two regional races in his career and was a three-time All-Semi-State performer and participated in the state meet all four seasons. He finished tenth as a junior before ascending to the No. 2 spot his senior season.

On the track, Hubner ran with the Slicers' school record 3200m relay team at the state meet each of the past two years. The team finished 12th in 2010 and fifth in 2011 in a school record setting time of 7:50.97. He won the sectional and regional titles in the 1600m race and finished 18th as a junior. Entering his senior track season, he's earned five state medals He chose IUPUI over a similar offer from Grand Valley State and intends on studying law enforcement.

Lozano, who was the first of the quartet to give a verbal commitment, continued his steady improvement into his senior season including placing sixth at the IHSAA State Cross Country meet with a personal record time of 15:39.80 and helping Mishawaka High School to a fourth-place finish. Lozano won both the sectional and regional meets before finishing second to Zielinski at Semi-State. He also won the County Clash and finished second at his conference meet en route to being named the Three Rivers Running Company Runner of the Year.

As a junior, Lozano advanced to the IHSAA State Track Championships in the 3200m run, placing 11th in a time of 9:21.24. He also ran in the IHSAA State Cross Country Championships where he finished 40th. He spurned scholarship offers from Purdue and GVSU to attend IUPUI.

Roudebush, a Noblesville High School-product, was a prep teammate of Cody Marowski and placed seventh in the IHSAA State Meet his senior year. He ran a personal best 15:36 5K at the Hoosier Crossroads Conference Meet, placing third overall. He later earned top 10 finishes in his sectional, regional and semi-state meets to earn a spot in the state finals. His lone cross country race win of his career came at the Maconaquah Invite his junior year when he ran a time of 15:57. He placed 35th at the state meet as a sophomore and 41st as a junior, helping the Millers to a team runner-up finish.

On the track, he recently ran a season best mile time of 4:31.72 at the Indianarunner.com Distance Showcase at Anderson University. He previously ran a personal record time of 4:25 his sophomore year.

Zielinski had a standout cross country career at South Bend St. Joseph's High School, including winning five races his senior year. He opened his senior year with three straight wins before later claiming the Northern Indiana Conference title and New Haven Semi-State tape. He was runner-up at both his sectional and regional races before finishing fourth at the state meet with a personal record time of 15:39.0. As a junior, he won the Cougar Kickoff and the Elkhart Regional title. He earned All-Sectional and All-Semi-State honors as well with top five finishes at each in 2010. He later placed 22nd at the state meet in a time of 16:04.6.

On the track, the South Bend-native has opened on his senior year on a high note with a recent win in the mile at the Indianarunner.com Distance Showcase in a personal record time of 4:17.40. Earlier this season, he won the 3200m race at the Trine High School Invitational at 9:21.17 and the 1600m race a week later at Trine in a time of 4:44.08. His junior year, he placed 13th in the 1600m run in a time of 4:19.99.

Hubner, Lozano and Zielinski all visited the IUPUI campus together on the same weekend, even opting to ride down together from the north end of the state.

"Those guys had become friends at the All-Star Meet and just came down together and became better friends," Koeppen said. "It was just a perfect fit. Everything kind of blossomed from there; kind of a perfect storm.

"Our current freshmen made it so warm and friendly and made them feel comfortable on their visit that they really wanted to be here."

The quartet will join an already deep roster headlined by to-be senior #J.D. Smith# and a group of to-be sophomores that includes Spencer Burgin and Zane Cooperider. Smith was the Jaguars' top finisher at The Summit League Meet, taking 18th overall as IUPUI placed seventh of 10 teams. However, Koeppen thinks all four will impact the program from day one.

"If anyone currently in our top seven wants to be in our top seven next year, they're going to have to be pretty darn good," Koeppen said. "All four of these guys are going to be varsity and should run in our top seven. They're that good."

IUPUI Men's Cross Country/Track Signees (as of 2/6/12)
Name	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/High School
Mitch Hubner	6-0	170	LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte
Miguel Lozano	5-9	140	Mishawaka, Ind./Mishawaka
Sam Roudebush	5-10	145	Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville
Joey Zielinski	6-0	145	South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph's