By Carly Fehler, UWEC Sports Information
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Blugolds.com) - On the final day of the 2017 NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championships, the Blugolds finished on a solid note.
JoHannah Theisen (Jr. – Eau Claire, WI/Regis) finished 13th in the women's shot put, with a throw of 13.13. It was one of the best marks of the season for Theisen, and puts her in a great position for the upcoming outdoor season.
The highlight of the day was Nick Petersson's (Sr. – Brookfield, WI/Brookfield Central) national runner-up finish in the 3,000 meter run. It mirrored an iconic race for the Blugolds last year, in which Petersson finished third. Last year, he ran 8:27.27, and on Saturday had a ten-second PR to finish the race in 8:17.42. Both Petersson and Darin Lau (Jr. – Eau Claire, WI/Immanuel) doubled this weekend in the 5,000 meter race and the 3,000 meter race. Lau finished 9th in the 5k, with a time of 8:24.91.
The women's 4x400 meter relay team of Jessie Reineck (Sr. - Greenville,WI/Fox Valley Lutheran), Ashleigh Buergi (Jr. – Green Bay, WI/Bay Port), Claire Fischer (So. – Appleton, WI/North), and Jess Rupnow (Sr. – Sussex, WI/Sussex-Hamilton) finished fifth in the final on Saturday, running a PR of 3:51.87. It was Fischer's first appearance at the National meet, and her first All-American award.
Overall, the men tied for 6th as a team with 21 points, and the women tied for 50th with 4 points.
The Blugolds will take some downtime now that the indoor season has concluded. The outdoor season will begin in a few weeks, with the first meet being held on April 8th at the Ashton May Invite, hosted by UW-La Crosse.