By Brett Haffner, UWEC Sports Information
WINSTON-SALEM, NC (blugolds.com) – On the first day of the NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field Championships at the JDL Fast Track, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's and women's indoor track & field teams saw a vast number of highlight performances.
Abrahm Schroedl (Sr. - DeForest, WI/DeForest) had a career day in the pole vault to place 3rd overall, all while competing in Day 1 of the heptathlon as well. Ranked 16th coming into the meet, Schroedl set multiple PR's throughout the competition, clearing 5.00 meters for the first time in his collegiate career.
Noah Reedy (Sr. - West Salem, WI/West Salem) and Mitch Stegeman (So. - Coleman, WI/Suring) both had stellar performances in the pole vault as well, both earning All-American honors by taking 7th, and 8th, respectively, each clearing 4.85 meters.
In all, these three men gathered 9 points for the men's team scores to start Day 1.
In the women's 800m prelims, Anna Schueth (So. - Arrowhead, WI/Arrowhead) reset her own school record by nearly a second, running 2:12.38 to place third in her heat. She qualified for tomorrow's final with the fourth fastest time overall in the field.
Marcus Weaver (So. - Lewiston, MN/Lewiston-Altura) dominated Day 1 of the men's heptathlon, racking up 3,251 points and remaining in 1st place heading into Day 2 of the competition. In the competition, Weaver placed tied for 2nd in the 60m dash (7.20 seconds) and took 1st in the long jump (7.03m), shot put (14.94m), and high jump (2.03m) amongst the heptathletes. He is currently on pace to reset his own national record in the heptathlon.
Abrahm Schroedl currently sits in 5th place through Day 1 of the heptathlon, with particularly strong performances in the 60m dash (7.28 seconds), long jump (6.56m), and high jump (1.94m) placing him in good position.
Mitch Stegeman and Casey Chadwick (Jr. - Poynette, WI/Poynette) both competed well on Day 1 of the heptathlon as well, as they are currently in 9th, and 14th places, respectively.
Jordan Lijewski (Sr. - Roseville, MN/Roseville Area) secured a place in the 400m final, running 49.13 to place 8th in the prelims.
The men's 4x400m relay team of Colin McClowry, Arik Skifstad, Kevin Eisenzimmer, and Jordan Lijewski locked their place into tomorrow's final, finishing 4th in the prelims with a time of 3:19.58.
Yakob Ekoue (So. - Hopkins, MN/Hopkins) finished in 9th overall in the weight throw with a mark of 17.95 meters.
Jake Petri (Sr. - Muskego, WI/Muskego) finished 11th overall in the mile, running 4:11.10.
Kady Kochendorfer (Jr. - Hudson, WI/Hudson) finished 13th overall in the 60m dash with a time of 7.73 seconds.
Abbey Fitzgerald (Fr. - Ephraim, WI/Gibraltar) finished 15th overall in the long jump with a mark of 5.29 meters.
With a slew of qualifiers into tomorrow's finals, along with the heptathletes' Day 2 of competition, the Blugolds are poised for a strong team performance to round out the National meet.
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