By Carly Fehler, UWEC Sports Information
STEVENS POINT, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire track and field teams had a strong weekend at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point's "Big Dog" Invite on Saturday, where they certainly showed who the big dogs are.
The women won the meet overall, and continue to be led by gritty senior Jessie Reineck (Jr.-Greenville, WI/Fox Valley Lutheran). She had a double win in the 400 (57.39), which is a lifetime best and currently ranks her seventh in the nation; and the 200 (25.27), which is another lifetime best and puts her third in the nation.
Sophomore Kelsey Worachek (So.-Appleton, WI/Xavier) added a win of her own in the 60-meter dash, with a time of 7.84. That's a lifetime best, as puts her in the top 25 in the country.
The young distance ladies had a promising day, and went 1-2 with freshman Katie George (Fr.-St. Paul, MN/Visitation) winning in 5:33.66, followed closely behind by sophomore Katie Wood (Sr. South Milwaukee, WI) in 5:35.35. Freshman Karen Gomez-Ruiz won the 3k in a time of 10:49.09.
The men's side rested a number of athletes as they look ahead to conference next week, but still took second overall as a team.
Senior Matt Dietlin (Jr.-Fitchburg, WI/Verona Area) won the high jump again this week, with a jump of 1.91.
The gentle giant Alex Mess (Sr.-Lake Mills, WI/Green Bay Notre Dame) once again won the shot put (16.68) and weight throw (17.73).
The highlight of the meet no doubt would come at the end of the meet, with a refreshing performance from the men's 4x400 meter relay. The team of Jimmy Paske (Jr.-Minnetonka, MN/Hopkins), Kevin Brooks (Sr.-Roseville, MN), Will LaJeunesse (Sr.-Belle Plaine, MN), and Brandon Christnovich (Fr.-Onalaska, WI/Holmen) ran a time of 3:19.02, which was second place in the meet, but ranks them 4th in the country. As a group that has struggled at times this season, it appears they are back on track heading into the most crucial part of the indoor season.
The Blugolds will head to the WIAC Indoor Conference Championships hosted at UW-Oshkosh this Friday. With impressive numbers already achieved this season, this particular meet promises to be the start of an exciting race to the finish line in Iowa.
