CANTON, NY (Blugolds.com) – Behind the All-American performances of Brandon Zarnoth (Sr.-Appleton, WI/North) and Greg Peterson (Sr.-Hartland, WI/Arrowhead) in the decathlon, the UW-Eau Claire men's track and field team have a one-point lead going into the final day of competition at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by St. Lawrence University at the Merrick-Pickard Track and Field Complex.
The Blugolds lead all teams after day two of competition with 18 points. UW-La Crosse is in second place with 17 points followed by Bates with 16 points.
Zarnoth became the school's first-ever national champion in the decathlon setting a new school and facility record of 7,279 points. Zarnoth won the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 14.87 seconds while finishing second in the discus with a throw of 129 feet (39.33 meters) and the pole vault clearing 14-5.25 (4.40 meters). In the javelin Zarnoth finished in fourth place with a throw of 169-8 (51.71 meters). Zarnoth ended the day placing 17th in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 5:04.29.
The 2014 national runner-up in the decathlon, this year's point total broke the previous school record also held by Zarnoth of 7,013 points set May 23-24, 2014 at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Delaware, Ohio. It also marked the fourth-highest point total in the decathlon ever achieved at the NCAA Division III level and the highest event score since 1983.
Right behind Zarnoth was a familiar face in Peterson who earned a second place finish totaling 6,872 points. Peterson finished second in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:27.78 while placing third in the 110-meter hurdles clocking in at 15.28 seconds and the pole vault clearing 14-1.25 (4.30 meters). Peterson also finished eighth in the javelin with a throw of 154-9 (47.18 meters) and 15th in the discus with a toss of 102-10 (31.35 meters).
Peterson also earned All-America status last season in the decathlon finishing in seventh place with a total of 6,740 points.
Cody Prince (Sr.-Appleton, WI/North) advanced to the finals of the 400-meter dash placing fifth overall with a time of 48.02 seconds.
Rylan Page (Jr.-Milwaukee, WI/The Prairie School) competed the in the 110-meter hurdle preliminaries finishing 17th overall posting a time of 14.90 seconds.
Several Blugolds will be competing tomorrow for the final day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Roger Steen (Sr.-Luck, WI) and Alex Mess (Jr.-Lake Mills, WI) will compete in the shot put as Steen enters the event as the nation's top-ranked thrower. Prince advanced to the 400-meter dash finals while Matthew Cooper (Jr.-Ashwaubenon, WI) will compete in the finals of the 1,500-meter run while In the distance events Joshua Thorson (Jr.-Plymouth, MN/Wayzata) and Darin Lau (Fr.-Eau Claire, WI/Immanuel) are set to run in the 5,000-meter run. The 4 x 100 and 4 x 400-meter relay teams have also advanced to tomorrow's finals after their performances from Thursday.
-KCM-
