By Carly Fehler, UWEC Sports Information
WAVERLY, Iowa (Blugolds.com) – Alex Mess (Sr.-Lake Mills, WI/Green Bay Notre Dame) of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's track and field team won top honors in the shot put at the NCAA Division III National Championships on Friday, winning the event with a toss of 18.17 meters (59' 7.5").
Also competing on Friday was Jimmy Paske (Jr.-Minnetonka, MN/Hopkins) who was 12th in the 400-meter with a time of 48.00.
On the women's side, Kelsey Woracheck (So.-Appleton, WI/Xavier) ran her second-fastest time this season, and a top three all-time for her, with 12.22 to finish 19th overall.
Coming off an All-American performance in the discus on Thursday, Mess came up big on Friday, beating the next competitor by nearly a foot. He had the best overall series of his life, with marks of 17.69, 18.02, and a personal best of 18.17. He threw his best on the most important, and final day, of his career. He showed up and scored ten critical points for his team.
"I had a little bit of nerves for my last competition," said Mess. "After my first throw I was nervous because I fouled, and I just didn't feel like I had it in me. I think I just put too much pressure on myself for the first throw and I started worrying if I could really do this. The moment I realized that I won--I just couldn't believe it was real. I just tried to loosen up a little, have fun and go for a record on that last throw. I couldn't believe it happened. Ever since my freshman year, my goal has always been to build every year-to always get better. So, to finally win a national title as a senior in my last competition ever, it was a complete fulfillment of my dream. It hasn't really hit me yet."
With Mess' win in the shot put, the Blugold men are now tied with SUNY Cortland for second place with 15 points. Central College (IA) is currently in first with 16 points. The women are in a six-way tie for 23rd with four points.
The Blugolds will compete in the third and final day of the meet on Saturday. A key event for Eau Claire will be the 5K, where Joshua Thorson (Sr.-Plymouth, MN/Wayzata) will compete as the number one seed in the event. Thorson will be joined by Darin Lau (So.-Eau Claire, WI/Immanuel) (seeded 18th) and Nicholas Petersson (Sr.-Brookfield, WI/Central) (seeded 20th).
The 4 x 400 relay team of Paske, Will LaJeunesse (Sr.-Belle Plaine, MN), Brandon Christnovich (Fr.-Holmen, WI) and Kevin Brooks (Sr.-Roseville, MN) will also compete in the finals after winning their heat on Thursday.
For the women, Sam Anderson (Jr.-Forest Lake, MN) will compete in the hammer throw and Stephanie Frempong-Longdon (Sr.-Minnetrista, MN/Waconia) will compete in the triple jump.
Links to the live results and video can be found on Blugold Gameday.
