By Carly Fehler, UWEC Sports Information
LA CROSSE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire track and field teams competed at UW-La Crosse this past weekend at the Phil Esten Challenge where both teams finished in third place.
Women's Results | Men's Results
The women were led by Sarah Glidden's (Sr. – Greenville, WI/Hortonville) first place finish in the high jump, with a clearance of 1.64 meters, and Erica Oawster's (So. - Lino Lakes, MN/Centennial) win in the discus, with a throw of 45.50 meters. That toss by Oawster currently ranks her 9th in the nation.
A trio of runner-up finishes helped to round out a solid day on the women's side:
Kelsey Worachek (Jr. – Appleton, WI/Xavier) was second in the 100 meter dash, running 12.20, which puts her in the top 25 in the nation.
Jessie Reineck (Sr. – Greenville, WI/Fox Valley Lutheran) was second with a 24.49 in the 200 meter dash, currently good for 4th in the nation.
Jess Rupnow (Sr. – Sussex, WI/Sussex-Hamilton) was second in the 400 meter dash, with a time of 57.13, which puts her in the top 25 in the country.
Samantha Slattery (So. – Waunakee, WI) finished third in the 10,000 meter run, in a time of 36:35.67.
Senior captain Ryan Graham (Sr. – Maple Grove, MN) led the men this week and won the 800 meter run in a time of 1:53.71.
Dylan Cooper (So. – Holmen, WI) won the men's first decathlon of the season, with a total of 6,417 points. He is currently 9th in the nation. Michael Amerlan (Fr. – Itasca, IL/Lake Park West) finished third in the decathlon, with a point total of 6,006.
Freshman Aaron Zmolek (Fr. – Holmen, WI) ran 49.58 in the 400 meter dash to finish second.
A few third place finishes were added by Matt Cooper (Sr. – Ashwaubenon, WI) in the 1500 meter run, in a time of 3:51.37, while freshman David Bachmeier (So. – Long Prairie, MN/Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) ran 15:57.85 in the 5,000 meter run, and Matt Dietlin (Sr. – Fitchburg, WI/Verona) in the high jump with a jump of 1.91 meters.
The dynamic duo of Darin Lau (Jr. – Eau Claire, WI/Immanuel) and Nick Petersson (Sr. – Brookfield, WI/Brookfield Central) delivered a great performance Thursday night in the 10,000 meter run, finishing second and fourth, respectively. Their times of 29:23.42 and 30:03.42 currently rank them second and 10th in Division III.
The Blugolds will split up this weekend, with some athletes headed to Drake Relays on Thursday, and the rest of the team going to Saint Mary's. This will be the last meet before the WIAC Conference Championships, which start next Friday at UW-Platteville.
