WAVERLY, Iowa (Blugolds.com) - In its first outdoor competition of the year, the UW-Eau Claire men's track & field team finished sixth of 13 teams participating in the Wartburg Select hosted by Wartburg College (Iowa).
The Blugolds racked up 58 points to finish the day. Iowa Central Community College took the top spot with 172 total points while Augustana College (Ill.) claimed second place with 136 points.
Jake Zander (Sr.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell) and Aaron Easker (So.-Eland, Wis./Wittenberg-Birnamwood ) led the Blugolds with top-five finishes in the 1,500-meter run. Zander crossed the line in 3:59.11 for fourth place while Easker finished less than a second behind for fifth.
While they didn't crack the top five, several Eau Claire runners came home in sixth place. Jacob Dennis-Oehling (Fr.-Whitewater, Wis.) raced to sixth with a time of 22.71 in the 200-meter dash and Matt Scott (Fr.-Kiel, Wis.) completed the 800-meter run in just 1:57.88, also for sixth. Blugolds finished sixth and seventh in the 400-meter run, with Patrick Mackin (Jr.-Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) leading Dennis-Oehling for sixth with a time of 49.57.
In relay competition, the Eau Claire A and B teams finished in respective ninth and 10th places in the 4x400. The A team – with runners Mackin, Andrew Storsveen (Sr.-Winona, Minn.), Alex Rothbauer (Fr.-Cadott, Wis.) and Mitch Sebranek (Jr.-Hillsoboro, Wis./Hillsboro) – led Eau Claire with a time of 3:24.27.
The outdoor season will continue next Saturday with the Platteville Open. The Blugolds are scheduled to begin competition at 11 a.m.
