Written by: Brett Haffner, UWEC Sports Information
LA CROSSE, WI- (blugolds.com) On the first of three days of competition at UW-La Crosse, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugold distance runners competed in the 10,000-meter run, with many athletes achieving PR's or contesting their first attempts at the distance event.
Dan Lau (Sr.- Eau Claire/Immanuel Lutheran) led the way on the men's side, running 31:36 for the 10,000-meter race, eclipsing his previous personal best by 40 seconds and placing 22nd overall.
Brett Haffner (Sr.- Darien, Illinois/Hinsdale South) finished right behind Lau, running 31:43 in his first attempt at the 10,000-meter distance, placing 26th overall.
Sid Gross (Sr.- St Paul, MN/Highland Park) ran 32:36 to place 39th overall, beating his personal best by 23 seconds.
Alex Carlson (Fr.- Bristol, IL/Marmion Academy), Jack Hesse-Withbroe (Fr.- Stillwater, MN/Stillwater), and Joey Thaler (Fr. - Chippewa Falls, WI/McDonnell) all made their first attempts at the 10,000-meter distance.
Carlson ran 32:39 for 41st overall, Hesse-Withbroe ran 32:56 to place 49th overall, and Thaler ran 34:01 to take 60th overall.
On the women's side, Katie Faris (Sr.- Chippewa Falls, WI/Chippewa Falls) ran an outstanding 10,000-meter time of 36:44 to place 6th overall, beating her personal best by 33 seconds.
Naomi Long (Sr.- Medina, MN/Wayzata) ran a massive personal best by 70 seconds, running 37:22 to place 8th overall.
Jenna Trzebiatowski (So.- Rosholt, WI/Rosholt) ran a personal best by 43 seconds, running 39:40 to place 26th overall.
Next up for the Blugolds will be Days 2 & 3 of the Phil Esten Challenge. Tomorrow, the Multi-Event athletes will begin the first day of competition for the Decathlon (men) and Heptathlon (women). On Saturday, the rest of the track team will compete in the standard schedule of events.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugold Game Day or on our app, UWEC Blugolds.
