WAVERLY, Iowa (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's track and field team finished second at the NCAA Division III National Championships on Saturday while the women finished in a tie for 58th.
UW-Eau Claire finished with 33 points while UW-La Crosse took home the team title with 41 points.
Joshua Thorson (Sr.-Plymouth, MN/Wayzata) fought an epic battle in the 5,000 meter, in what was the last storied chapter of historic races between him and UW-Platteville's Ian LaMere. They were neck and neck the entire race, and it came down to a kick in the last 90 meters of the race. Josh finished as the national runner-up with a time of 14:26.18 in one of the most anticipated races of the weekend. Also in that race was Darin Lau (So.-Eau Claire, WI/Immanuel), who came back after a brutal 10,000 meter run on Thursday to look exceptionally well on Saturday, and became an All-American in the event by finishing 5th with a time of 14:40.50. Nicholas Petersson (Sr.-Brookfield, WI/Central), who entered the meet ranked 20th, finished 13th with a time of 15:03.60.
The men's 4x400 meter relay team of Will LaJeunesse (Sr.-Belle Plaine, MN), Brandon Christnovich (Fr.-Holmen, WI), Kevin Brooks (Sr.-Roseville, MN), and Jimmy Paske (Jr.-Minnetonka, MN/Hopkins) ran in an extremely close race that had to be one of the most exciting finals race at the national meet. It came down to a lean at the finish line, and the Blugolds finished third with a time of 3:10.69, just .05 behind second place and .19 behind first place.
For the women, Sam Anderson (Jr.-Forest Lake, MN) finished 11th in the hammer throw with a toss of 51.53 meters (169' 1") and Stephanie Frempong-Longdon (Sr.-Minnetrista, MN/Waconia) was 19th with a jump of 11.11 meters (36' 5.5").
