By Carly Fehler, UWEC Sports Information
GENEVA, Ohio (Blugolds.com) – Despite a torrential downpour that lasted all day, there were many bright spots for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire track and field teams on the first day of the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Samantha Slattery (So. – Waunakee, WI) and Callie Fischer (Jr. – Oneida, WI/Ashwaubenon) started the day on a high note, placing higher than their initial rankings in the 10,000 meter run. They were seeded 12th and 22nd respectively, and finished ninth (35:55.14) and 16th (37:14.10).
In what was the most exciting event of the day for the Blugolds, hometown kid Darin Lau (Jr. – Eau Claire, WI/Immanuel) had phenomenal day in the 10,000 meter run, finishing as the national runner up by a sliver-thin margin of .04—a close race in any event—but especially tight in a race of this length. His finishing time was 29:15.16. He led the last two laps of the race, and was out-leaned at the line. It was one of the closest 10k races ever at the National meet as he broke his own school record and recorded the seventh fastest time in Division III history. Lau will return on Saturday for the 5,000 meter run.
John Vodacek (Sr. - New Auburn, WI/Bloomer) also had a great race in the 10k and just missed the podium with a ninth place finish. He came in the meet seeded 18th and finished in 30:29.43.
Erica Oawster (So. – Lino Lakes, MN/Centennial) had a tough day in the discus. She was ranked ninth coming into the meet, but triple fouled in the preliminary flight and did not advance to finals.
David Kornack (Jr. – Edgar, WI), who had to travel to a last chance meet last week just to qualify for the discus, threw a mark of 47.72 to finish seventh, which is Kornack's first All-American honor. He will throw shot put on Friday.
Dylan Cooper (Fr. – Holmen, WI) had a great first day in the decathlon, setting personal bests in the 100 meter dash, long jump, and the 400 meter dash. He is sitting fifth going into day two of competition on Friday and has five events left: 110 hurdles, pole vault, javelin, discus, and the 1500 meter run.
Ashleigh Buergi (Jr. – Green Bay, WI/Bay Port) fought through the worst rain of the entire day in the 400 meter hurdles, and advanced to the final. She was ranked 13th coming into the meet, and is currently ninth heading into the final on Saturday, with an opportunity for her first individual All-American honor.
In a wild 1500 meter preliminary race, Kyler Lueck (Fr. – Germantown, WI/Wisconsin Lutheran) and Matt Cooper (Sr. – Ashwaubenon, WI) have advanced to the final. Lueck finished fourth with a time of 3:53.01 and automatically advanced, while Cooper was tangled up in a collision in the last 150 meters of the race. He was added to the final after meet officials determined he was impeded.
Jessie Reineck (Sr. - Greenville,WI/Fox Valley Lutheran) who has a long weekend ahead of her, advanced to the 200 meter dash final with the 6th best qualifying time of 24.74.
Reineck, Kelsey Worachek (Jr. – Appleton, WI/Xavier), Claire Fischer (So. – Appleton, WI/North) and Jess Rupnow (Sr. – Sussex, WI/Sussex-Hamilton) tallied the second-fasted time in the 4x100 (46.95) to advance to the finals.
The 4x400 team of Buergi, Rupnow, Reineck and Sarah Glidden's (Sr. – Greenville, WI/Hortonville) advanced to Saturday's final running the second-best qualifying time of 3:45.47.
Also punching a ticket to Saturday's finals was the men's 4x400 team of Aaron Zmolek (Fr. – Holmen, WI), KJ Munn (Fr. – Bayport, MN/St. Croix Prep Academy), Hunter Henk (Fr. – Beldenville, WI/River Falls) and Brandon Christnovich (So. – Holmen, WI), finishing eighth in the preliminary race with a time of 3:13.86.
It was a very solid day overall for the Blugolds, especially considering the conditions of the meet. The men have 10 points as a team after day one and the women have yet to put points on the board. With a better weather outlook for the rest of the meet, Eau Claire will look to make a jump in the standings. Follow the live results and video for Friday and Saturday's action on Blugold Game Day.
