WINONA, Minn. (Blugolds.com) – The ninth-ranked UW-Eau Claire men's outdoor track & field team broke two school records as the Blugolds competed in three different meets in three different states this weekend.
At the Gina Relays in Hillsdale, Mich., Thomas Breitbach (Sr.-Muskego, Wis.) broke his own school record in the 5,000-meter run as he won with a time of 14:09.60, almost three seconds in front of a field that consisted of NCAA Division I, II and III athletes. The previous school record, which Breitbach set on May 13, 2011, was 14:25.26.
At the Saint Mary's Open in Winona, Minn., Tyler Genovese (Sr.-Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) took second in the discus throw with a toss of 52.14 meters (171-01), breaking the old school record of 51.94 meters (170-05), set by Dan Schmidt at nationals in 1992.
Also at Saint Mary's, the Blugolds won two other events. Joe Lilek (Sr.-Tomahawk, Wis.) won the shot put with a toss of 15.54 meters (51-0) while the 4x400-meter relay team of Matt Weber (Fr.-Osceola, Wis.), Nate Kelly (Sr.-Green Bay, Wis./Ashwaubenon), Nick Erickson (Fr.-Platteville, Wis.) and Bryan Krause (So.-Webster, Wis.) took first with a time of 3:28.24.
Six Blugolds also competed in two events at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.
Jacob Dennis-Oehling (So.-Whitewater, Wis.), Cody Prince (Fr.-Appleton, Wis./North), Marty Richardson (Sr.-Appleton, Wis./Kimberly) and Thurgood Dennis (Fr.-Allouez, Wis./Green Bay Notre Dame) won the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:10.75, just shy of the Blugolds' school record of 3:10.57.
In the 4x100-meter relay, Seth Friedrich (So.-Pine Island, Minn.), Dennis-Oehling, Cory White (Fr.-Tomah, Wis.) and Dennis took sixth with a time of 41.51 seconds, just short of the school record which is 41.17 seconds.
Next up is the WIAC Championship, which will be contest May 4-5 at UW-Whitewater.
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