By Carly Fehler, UWEC Sports Information
STEVENS POINT, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's and women's indoor track and field teams visited Stevens Point this weekend for the Pointer Invite. It was a quiet meet for the Blugolds, with many student-athletes resting in anticipation for the championship stretch of the season, which is just around the corner.
Jess Rupnow (Sr. – Sussex, WI/Sussex-Hamilton) made some noise, however, and led the women with a convincing victory in the 400-meter dash, winning in a time of 57.89. She currently sits seventh in the nation in that event. She was also the runner-up in the 200 meter dash, with a time of 26.19.
Other notable finishes on the women's side include JoHannah Theisen (Jr. – Eau Claire, WI/Regis) in the shot put, who finished second with a throw of 12.98 meters. She was an indoor qualifier last year at the NCAA Division III national meet in the shot put and currently sits 18th in the country. She will be one to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
A combination of scheduled rest and nagging injuries made for an unusually silent day on the men's side. Aaron Zmolek (Fr. – Holmen, WI) took third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.66, Hunter Henk (Fr. – Beldenville, WI/River Falls) finished third in the 400-meter dash in a time of 50.37, and TJ Lui (Fr. – Dousman, WI/Kettle Moraine) was the runner up in the triple jump with a leap of 13.42 meters.
The Blugolds will head into the second half of their indoor campaign this Friday, as they travel over the border to St. Thomas for The Showcase meet. The team will look to pick up steam as they get closer to the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championships, which are only a few short weeks away.
