By Carly Fehler, UWEC Sports Information
MENOMONIE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - The UW-Eau Claire men's and women's track and field teams delivered a dominating performance this weekend at UW-Stout's Warren Bowlus Open.
Women's Results | Men's Results
On the women's side, Sarah Glidden put the Blugolds on the right path Friday night and solidified herself as the number one pentathlete in the country with a school-record breaking score of 3578, more than 250 points ahead of the next best score. When interviewed about her performance, she stated, "I think it was a great start. It was really nice to have the team support on Friday night and I definitely think there is room for improvement. I'm excited for what's next."
Sophomore JoHanna Theisen took over on Saturday, with a huge throw of 13.91, a school record that ranks her 4th in the nation. This young thrower will be one to watch over the next month. Other notable performances include Melody Becker, who won the mile in a time of 5:14.57. The Blugold women currently have six women ranked in the top fifteen in the country.
The men were led by the distance crew this weekend, including an incredible performance by Josh Thorson, Darin Lau, and Nick Petersson in the 3k, who finished 1st (8:16), 4th (8:24) and 5th (8:26), respectively, and were the top three collegiate finishers in the race. Fresh off their cross country national title this past fall, these men made it clear on Saturday that they are ready for track and field season, as these 3K marks currently rank them 1st, 4th, and 7th in the country.
Alex Mess led the men's field events, with a double win in the shot put and weight throw. His throw of 17.01 in the shot put ranks him number one in the nation, and is currently 3rd in the weight throw with 17.92.
Freshmen standout Brandon Christonovich won the men's 200 meter dash in a time of 22.54, which ranks him 16th in the country. He is also ranked 17th in the 400. Patrick Treacy added another win for the day in the men's mile with a time of 4:21.71. The men currently have sixth athletes ranked in the top fifteen in the country, in eight different events.
The Blugolds will head to Steven's Point for the UW-Stevens Point Invite next weekend, and will look to continue building momentum as the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Indoor Championships are just three weeks away.
