Pioneer track and field teams set for WIAC Championships

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville track and field teams will rely on a mixture of young talent and experienced veterans to succeed at the WIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend, hosted by UW-Whitewater.

The men's team will be anchored by its sprinters, long distance runners and pole vaulters to move the team up from their fifth-place finish in 2013, while the women's team will depend on its long distance runners, high jumpers and long jumpers to improve on an eighth-place finish last year.

Men's Preview

The UW-Platteville men's team will be looking to score early and often Friday, the first day of events. Pioneer runners have posted some of the best times in the WIAC for both the 60-meter dash and the 60-meter hurdle races, which will be run in the middle of the day Friday.

In the 60-meter dash, Mitchell Dowell and Caleb Mertens have posted the seventh and 10th best times in the conference, respectively. Mertens, Dowell, Brandon Navin and Brad Jurewicz comprise the Pioneers' top-ranked 4x200-meter relay as well.

T.J. Valley is ranked second in the 60-meter hurdles, just two one-hundredths of a second off the top time, while Austin Lloyd is ranked fifth and Patrick Kessenich's 10th-place ranking gives the Pioneers great scoring chances.

Valley, Kessenich, Jason Henkins and Jurewicz make up the the Pioneers' third-ranked 4x400-meter relay team. The 4x400-meter relay will be the last event of the competition Saturday.

Henkins can also help the Pioneers' team score with a good performance in the 800-meter run, as he has the ninth-best time in the WIAC this season.

Ian LaMere will be a key distance runner for the Pioneers, as he has posted the fourth-best time in the 3,000-meter run and the fifth-fastest time in the 5,000-meter run.

The Pioneers will enter six competitors into the men's pole vault, three of whom are ranked in the top 10 in the event. Jared Bradfish, who broke the school record in the event Jan. 31, has the second-best mark, just 0.01 off the top spot. Garrett Riggs comes in at the fifth spot and Matt Dwyer is ranked eighth. The six entrants is tied with women's high jump for the largest group of Pioneers in any single event.

Ace McCarty, seventh-best in the high jump, and Kyle Whaley, 10th-best in the shot put, have good chances to score for the Pioneers as well.

Women's Preview

The Pioneer women's team should also be in good shape after Friday, as the competition will start with the long jump and the high jump, two of the Pioneers' best events.

In the high jump, the Pioneers have four of the top eight athletes in the WIAC, with Alyssa Iserman's school-record 1.7-meter leap leading the way. Not far behind is Caitlin Thomson, who is second-best in the conference at 1.68-meters. Mary-Katherine Kladar and Stephanie Wyss round out the top of the field, ranking seventh and eighth, respectively.

Amber Williams looks to be a key contributor again for the Pioneers this weekend, as she is ranked third in the conference in both the long jump and the triple jump, in which she broke the school record Feb. 15.

Chelsey Heiden will be one to watch in the distance races, as she is ranked ninth in the 3,000-meter run and third in the 5,000-meter.

In the pentathlon, Wyss, who broke the school record in the event Jan. 31, has the fourth-best score while Kladar is ranked ninth.

Both the women's teams relay squads are ranked in the top-seven, as the 4x200-meter relay of Krysta Parson, Kelsey Reed, Jessica Jentz and Carly Willman ranks fifth, and the 4x400-meter relay of Williams, Parson, Lynea Axelson and Reed ranks seventh. Axelson also has the 10th-best time in the 800-meter run.

Events begin on Friday at 11:30 a.m.