By Carly Fehler, UWEC Sports Information
STEVENS POINT, Wis. (Blugold.com) – The Men's and Women's Track and Field teams had another promising weekend at the Pointer Invite at UW-Stevens Point on Saturday. While both teams finished third in the team standings, there were a number of standout performances that indicate big things in the coming weeks.
Overall Results | Team Results | Video
The women were led by seniors Jessie Reineck and Jess Rupnow who had dominating victories in the 200 and 400 meter dash, respectively. Reineck won with a fast time of 25.49, which is lifetime personal best indoors and puts her second in the nation.
"It just felt really good," said Reineck. "I haven't run an indoor 200 in a very long time, so I was happy with how well it went. It makes me excited to get back to the open 400 next week."
Rupnow had a day of her own, winning the open 400 in a time of 59.00, which is a huge lifetime indoor PR and ranks her 24th in the country. She also had a lifetime best in the 200 at 26.41 and finished fourth. The jack-of-all-trades, Sarah Glidden, kept rolling on Saturday after a big meet last weekend and won the 60 meter hurdles in a time of 8.94, which is currently 11th in the nation.
Sophomore Kelsey Worachek had a strong 60 meter dash final and finished second with a lifetime best of 7.91.
What could be seen as a quieter week on the men's side due to the majority of the distance crew on rest this weekend, the men showed they are as well-rounded as any team out there with a 1-2-3 finish in the men's shot put by Alex Mess (16.41m), Jordan Jensen (15.68m), and Jake Otterson (15.25m). Mess added another win in the weight throw, with a toss of 18.23m, good for third in the nation. It's clear that the long lineage of top-notch throwers at UW-Eau Claire is only growing under legendary assistant coach, Paul Conlin.
Junior Jimmy Paske had a strong day and won the men's 400 meter dash in a time of 50.32. He also led off the first-place 4x400 meter relay team, followed by Kevin Brooks, Will LaJeunesse, and Brandon Christovich, with a time of 3:25.09.
In total, the Blugolds won seven different events this weekend and currently have 20 marks that are ranked in the top 25 in the nation. They will come off a short week and head to Minnesota on Friday to compete in the St. Thomas Invite.
