Pioneers Begin Competition at WIAC Track and Field Championships
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women’s track and
field team won a pair of events on the first day of the WIAC
Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Whitewater on Friday.
The Pioneers’ 4x800-meter relay team of Natalie Jozik, Jackie
Cahill, Ann Tank and Deidre Dillman were victorious in a new
UW-Whitewater facility record time of 9:20.07. Dillman and Tank
also qualified for Saturday’s finals in the 800-meter
run.
Plus, Danielle Kunkel won the 10,000-meter run in 37:56.72 to
become just the second individual in program history from
UW-Platteville to win the event. Also for the women, Keturah Vangen
qualified for the finals in the 400-meter hurdles.
On the men’s side, Mark Niemann became the program's first
javelin conference champion since Tim Jankowski in 2006. Niemann
won the javelin with a throw of 185-10, over seven feet further
than his closest competitor. Teammate Daniel Poh took sixth with a
throw of 170-1.
The Pioneers also picked up team points when Chas Spangenberg and
Jared Bradfish took third (15-7 ¼) and sixth (15-7 ¼)
in the pole vault.
Aaron Hrubes and Lynn Oyawiri qualified for the finals in the
100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Also advancing into Saturday’s finals were T.J. Valley and
Aaron Loferski, who qualified in the 110-meter hurdles.
Saturday’s events get underway with the
men’s 110-meter hurdles in the decathlon at 10 a.m.