LA CROSSE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - It's crunch time across the country for those track athletes on the verge of qualifying for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The UW-Eau Claire women's track and field team rose to the occasion in two last chance meets at North Central College (Ill.) and UW-La Crosse.
Kelsey Weigel (Marshfield, Wis.) scored the biggest highlight of the week as she took home a new school record in the heptathlon after competing in the two-day event Tuesday and Wednesday at North Central. She took second with a score of 4,636 points, besting the old school record of 4,595 points set by Kathy Peasly all the way back in 1982. Weigel's performance has her sitting well in the national rankings as she is ranked seventh after her historic performance.
In La Crosse, the Blugolds got two third place finishes.
Megan Mulligan (So.-Lake Geneva, Wis./Badger) took third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.38 seconds. While Mulligan will likely miss the cut in the 100, she is slated in the top 22 (the qualifying number) in the 200-meter dash after her time of 24.85 Thursday night.
Mulligan then teamed up with Carly Fehler (So.-Oak Creek, Wis.), Brooke Patterson (So.-Sussex, Wis./Hamilton) and Jess Rupnow (Fr.-Sussex, Wis./Hamilton) to take third in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 47.28 seconds. The quartet sits in the top five in the nation with that time.
The top 22 women in each event will qualify for the National Meet next weekend in La Crosse. A complete list of names will be announced Sunday at 9 a.m. (Eastern) on NCAA.com.
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