MENOMONIE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - The UW-Eau Claire men's track & field team earned its best championship finish since the 2001 season, placing fourth of nine teams at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Championship.
UW-La Crosse won the team title for the 10th consecutive year with a score of 165.50 points. UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater followed with totals of 138 and 102.50. Eau Claire earned 83.50 points overall and also picked up one event title en route to its fourth place finish.
Tom Breitbach (Jr.-Muskego, Wis.) earned the championship title in the 5,000-meter run. He nabbed the top spot by completing the race with a time of 14:57.86, over five seconds faster than the second place finisher.
Blugolds were dominant in the indoor pentathlon competition, placing three competitors in the top five. Bart Mestelle (Jr.-Sun Prairie, Wis.) led Eau Claire with a second-best total of 3,534 points. Patrick Keyes (Sr.-Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) and Andrew Storsveen (Sr.-Winona, Minn.) placed fourth and fifth. All three Blugolds earned provisional qualifications for nationals.
The Blugolds picked up two second place finishes in the 400-meter dash and the 3,000-meter run. Patrick Mackin (Jr.-Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) was runner up in the dash, earning a provisional qualifying mark with a time of 49.68. Aaron Easker (So.-Eland, Wis./Wittenberg-Birnamwood ) earned his second place finish in the 3,000-meter with a run of 8:34.29.
Eau Claire had its best team event finish in the distance medley race. The Blugold team of Matt Scott (Fr.-Kiel, Wis.), Marty Richardson (Jr.-Appleton, Wis./Kimberly), Alex Adkinson (So.-Whitewater, Wis.) and Jake Zander (Sr.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell) raced to third with a time of 10:30.29.
In field events, Tony Sigrist (Jr.-Byron, Minn.) was one of the most successful. Sigrist picked up a fourth place finish in the weight throw competition with an effort of 18.17 meters (59-07.50). He also placed fifth in the shot put event with a throw of 15.83 meters (51-11.25). Both efforts beat the provisional qualifying mark.
Storsveen was also honored outside of the scored competitions. He represented the Blugolds on the Conference All-Sportsmanship team. Members of this team are honored for displaying excellent sportsmanship throughout the season.
Next weekend, the Blugolds will compete in the Stevens Point Last Chance event in an effort to qualify for the NCAA championships March 11 and 12. The Last Chance event is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
