WHITEWATER, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - For the first time since the 1992-93 season, the UW-Eau Claire men's indoor track and field team earned a runner-up finish at the WIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Blugold women finished in sixth place.
The 2014 version took place at UW-Whitewater, where the Blugold men finished with 131 points to the Eagles' 189. The Blugold women took sixth place overall after collecting 56.5 points. UW-La Crosse won the meet with 207 points.
It was once again Thurgood Dennis (Jr.-Allouez, Wis./Notre Dame) who stole the show. The four-time national champion won the 60-meter dash in 6.75 seconds, a conference and school record, as well as the 200-meter dash in 21.77 seconds while also anchoring the 4x400-meter relay team of Will LaJeunesse (Fr.-Belle Plaine, Minn.), Jimmy Paske (Fr.-Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) and Kevin Brooks (Roseville, Minn.) to a narrow victory in 3:19.40. He also was a part of the winning 4x200-meter relay team of Cody Prince (Jr.-Appleton, Wis./North), Paske and Brent Mantzke (Fr.-Appleton, Wis./Xavier) with a time of 1:28.74, a school record.
Brandon Zarnoth (Jr.-Appleton, Wis./North) also set a conference and school record in the heptathlon as he won it with 5,385 points, besting the conference record by more 198 points. He previously broke the school record on Feb. 8 with 5,022 points but improved the score even more today.
Roger Steen (Jr.-Luck, Wis.) won the shot put Friday night with a heave of 17.11 meters (56-1.75).
Adam Moline (So.-Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) and Matt Scott (Sr.-Kiel, Wis.) both set school records on the day, as well. Moline took third in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.49 while Scott took second in the 3,000-meter run in 8:20.53. Moline broke a record of 1:53.7, set by Sean Gavigan in 2001. Scott broke the previous school record of 8:23.81 set by Jason Finch in 1999.
Although the Blugold women didn't have any individual conference champions, Carly Fehler (Jr.-Oak Creek, Wis.) finished third in the 60-meter dash in a new school record time of 7.77 seconds, besting Jordanne Greenup's time of 7.78 seconds from 2012 for best in Eau Claire history.
The women's 4x200-meter relay team of Brooke Patterson (Jr.-Sussex, Wis./Hamilton), Kayla Kelsey (Jr.-Sparta, Wis.), Lindsey Laufenberg (Jr.-Waunakee, Wis.) and Megan Mulligan (Jr.-Lake Geneva, Wis./Badger) had the Blugolds' top result, taking second with a school record time of 1:42.97. The Blugolds' previous school best was 1:43.11, set last season on Feb. 23.
In the pentathlon, Kelsey Weigel (Sr.-Marshfield, Wis.) broke a school record as she took third with 3,300 points. The previous school record was 3,295 points, set by Arlene Meinholz in 1997.
Jacob Dennis-Oehling (Sr.-Whitewater, Wis.) and Weigel were named to the All-Sportsmanship Team for Eau Claire at the conclusion of the meet.
Up next for the Blugolds are last chance meets at UW-Stevens Point next Saturday before tackling the NCAA Championship in two weeks, held in Lincoln, Neb.
-NE-