GENEVA, OH (blugolds.com)— On day one of competition at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's men's and women's track and field teams competed strongly and had three individuals earn top-5 finishes in completed events. The men's team is in 3rd place after day one with 13 team points, behind Rowan University's 19 points and John Carroll University's 18 points. The women's team is in 21st place with 4 team points after day one. Johns Hopkins University currently leads with 16 team points.
Marcus Weaver (So.- Lewiston, MN/Lewiston-Altura) capped off an already-impressive day of competition by winning the javelin throw, scoring 10 points for the Blugolds with a season best mark of 67.00m. Weaver defends his national champion title after taking top honors in 2021 with a mark of 67.68m. Coming into the meet, Weaver was ranked fifth in the nation with a distance of 64.78m.
Yakob Ekoue (So.- Hopkins, MN/Hopkins) had a stellar day in the discus throw, coming into the competition seeded 12th and finishing in 5th. With his personal best throw of 52.40m on the year, Ekoue earned himself All-American honors. He will compete in the shot put tomorrow.
Kayla Behnke (Fr.- Appleton, WI/Kimberly) earned her first All-American honor in the discus throw, placing 5th with a mark of 44.46m, earning 4 team points for the women's team.
The men's 4x400m relay team of Sam Schreiber (Fr. – Kimberly, WI), Colin McClowry (Fr. – Neenah, WI), Arik Skifstad (Sr. – Eau Claire, WI), and Jordan Lijewski (Sr. – Roseville, MN) ran a stellar time of 3:14.29, qualifying for the finals of that event.
Sam Verkerke (Fr.- White Bear Lake, MN/White Bear Lake) ran an impressive 1500m preliminary, winning his heat in a time of 3:58.88. Verkerke ran the second fastest time of all the competitors in the preliminaries and will compete on Saturday in the finals.
After the first five events of the Decathlon, Marcus Weaver currently sits in first place with 3,933 points, leading by 81 points. Abrahm Schroedl (Sr.- DeForest, WI/DeForest) currently is in 5th place in the Decathlon after day one with 3,687 points. Mitch Stegeman (So.- Coleman, WI/Suring) currently sits in 12th place through day one with 3,520 points.
The men's 4x100m relay squad of Arik Skifstad, Colin McClowry, Charlie Wolter (Fr. – Eau Claire, WI/Regis), and Stefan Klechefski (So. – Roberts, WI/River Falls) placed 6th in the preliminary round of the event with a time of 40.69. They will move onto the finals with their placement.
Connor Dolan (Sr.- Nekoosa, WI/Assumption) qualified for the finals of the 3000m steeplechase, placing 10th in the prelims with a time of 9:07.75.
Evelyn Walker (Fr.- Madison, WI/La Follete) competed in her first national meet as a Blugold, placing 10th overall in the discus throw, with a mark of 42.65m.
The women's 4x100m relay squad of Megan Best (Jr. - Oshkosh, WI/West), Kady Kochendorfer (Sr. - Hudson, WI), Gianna Kornaus (So. - Oneida, WI/Pulaski), and Erin Johnson (Jr. - Shakopee, MN) placed 13th in the event, running a time of 47.26.
Carolyn Shult (So.- Augusta, WI/Augusta) competed in her first national meet as a Blugold, placing 13th in the preliminary round of the 1500 meters with a time of 4:33.77.
Kady Kochendorfer competed in the 200m dash, placing 21st overall with a time of 24.78.
The Blugolds will rest and prepare for day two of the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field National Championships as the decathletes will start the day off with the 110m hurdles at 9:00am CST.
