By Carly Fehler, UWEC Sports Information
ST. PAUL, Minn. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire track and field teams crossed the border this weekend and headed to the University of St. Thomas for The Showcase Invitational.
Men's Results | Women's Results
The women were led in the field this weekend by the Eau Claire native JoHannah Theisen (Jr. – Eau Claire, WI/Regis), who threw a season-best mark of 13.28 meters to win the shot put. She's currently ranked 13th in the country in Division III. Stephanie Frempong-Longdon (Sr. – Minnestrista, MN/Waconia) also took home a gold, winning the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 9.41.
Kelsey Worachek (Appleton, WI/Xavier) added a runner-up finish in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.87, while Ashleigh Buergi (Jr. – Green Bay, WI/Bay Port) also finished second in her event, the 400-meter dash, in a personal best time of 59.44.
Kylie Schuettpelz (Fr. – Black Creek, WI/Seymour) was second in the high jump, with a clearance of 1.55 meters.
On the men's side, the sprinters warmed up the track for what would be a clinic in the distance races later in the evening. Aaron Zmolek (Fr. – Holmen, WI) won the 400-meter dash in 50.17, a personal best, while KJ Munn (Fr. – Bayport, MN/ St. Croix Preparatory Academy) finished second in 50.25, which was also a personal best. Cody Andrus (Jr. – Homer Glen, IL/Lockport) was the runner-up in the 200-meter dash, with a time of 22.68.
Matt Dietlin (Sr. – Fitchburg, WI/Verona Area) cleared 1.96 meters to win the high jump.
David Kornack (Jr. – Edgar, WI) had a big night in the shot put, with a personal best mark of 16.11 meters to win the event. After the graduation of Alex Mess last year, who won a national title for the Blugolds in the shot put, it's clear the long line of elite throwers in Eau Claire is still going strong. Kornack's mark puts him 19th in the country and certainly makes him one to watch in the coming weeks.
As promised, the distance runners were the star of the show on Friday night, and began with Kyler Lueck (Fr. – Germantown, WI/Wisconsin Lutheran) in the mile run, winning in a time of 4:19.16.
The 5,000-meter run was dominated by the All-American duo of Darin Lau (Jr. – Eau Claire, WI/Immanuel) and Nick Petersson (Sr. – Brookfield, WI/Central). Lau won in a time of 14:27.93, while Petersson was the runner-up in a time of 14:30.70. It's a personal best for both runners, and ranks them 4th and 6th respectively in the nation. The best part is that each of these men earned All-American honors in the 3k last year—not the 5k—but that may very well change come March.
The Blugolds have much to be excited about as they began their ascent into the championship stretch of their indoor campaign, with a trip to Oshkosh scheduled for next Saturday and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) conference meet only two weeks away.
