PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville track and field teams opened the outdoor season on Saturday afternoon by hosting the UW-Platteville Opener. The Pioneers put together a strong afternoon, winning several events and setting many personal bests.
Men's Highlights
In the 110m hurdles, senior Cole Stugelmeyer won the event behind a time of 14.91 seconds. Sophomores Jason Gleichauf (15.79) and Dale Yerges (16.17) also scored, finishing third and fourth.
Sophomore Derrick Turner put together a PR time in the 100m at 10.80 seconds. Senior Cade VanHout was right behind at 10.81 seconds for second.
Sophomore Spencer Vanek won the 400m, crossing the finish line at 49.73 seconds. Sophomore Dylan Miller placed third with a PR time of 50.89, while freshman Evan Graves finished fourth at 51.60 in his first outdoor meet. Miller also ran a PR time of 22.64 seconds in the 200m to finish third in the event.
Senior Jason Voelker posted a personal best time of 4:08.04 in the 1500m to place eighth.
The Pioneers had six score in the 5000m, led by senior Troy Humpal who won the event with a PR time of 15:08.55. Freshman Caden Schneider came in second with a personal best 15:10.03 while senior Caleb Christiansen finished third at 15:13.77.
Sophomore Nolan Baumhardt ran a new PR time of 33:45.79 in the 10,000m to win the event. Sophomore Carson Kester placed third with a personal best time of 33:51.69.
Junior Daniel Inyang finished just shy of his personal best but won the high jump at 2.00m. Freshman Gavin Ralph placed fourth in the event at 1.90 in his first collegiate meet.
Senior Justin Eichler won the hammer throw at 57.94m and followed it up with another win in the discus at 45.74m. Senior Ben Veverka scored on all three throws on the day with a second-place finish in the discus (45.35m), fifth-place finish in the shot put (14.14m), and sixth-place mark in the hammer (44.44m). Freshman Beau Kopp placed fourth in the discus at 42.72m and also scored in the shot put at 13.83m. Freshman McKade Jelinek took fifth in his first discus this season at 40.64m.
Junior Weston Pink placed second in the triple jump at 13.27m while freshman James Ketterer finished third at 12.53m.
Women's Highlights
Sophomore Margaret Rusch won the 400m with a time of 1:00.58, setting a new personal best in the process. She also scored in the 200m with her second PR on the day at 27.47 for seventh.
Junior Natalie Kreier recorded a new PR time in the 5000m at 19:16.82 to win the event. Three more UW-Platteville athletes finished behind Kreier as junior Hannah Fliss (19:18.54), freshman Avery Brown (20:15.07), and freshman Paige Guttman (21:31.74) earned second through fourth, respectively.
Senior Ashleigh Adamson was the Pioneers top finisher in the 200m with a personal best time of 27.28 for fifth. She also finished second in the 100m at 13.02 for her second PR of the afternoon.
Sophomore Shannon Wulf recorded a PR in the 100m with a third-place finish behind a mark of 13.06 seconds. Wulf was one of three Pioneers to score in the 100m as sophomore Madison Ahrens (13.08) took fourth and senior Grace Guetschow (13.26) finished sixth with two more PR times.
Freshman Delanee Klaas finished fourth in her first 100m hurdles at 16.89 while junior Kayla Lipsey placed right behind for fifth at 18.11.
The Pioneers jumpers put together a strong afternoon, with four athletes scoring. In the high jump, freshman Ella Mackiewicz and senior Grace Elvert tied for second at 1.55m. Sophomore Brynlee Nelson finished fourth in the long jump at 5.06m while Wulf took fifth at 4.83m. In the triple jump, senior Kelli Schneider won the event with a jump of 10.70m while sophomore Lizzie Andrews came in second at 10.47m.
In the javelin, Elvert finished third with a personal best at 33.85m while Nelson placed fourth with a throw of 30.55m.
Senior Paulina Wienke took third in the hammer throw with a toss of 46.07m. Wienke also placed seventh in the shot put at 11.79m. Sophomore Brenna Noon won the shot put with a throw of 13.59m.
The Pioneers will compete at the Good Friday Open on April 7 hosted by the University of Dubuque. Field events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. with running events set for noon.
