School Records Met and High Jump Champion named on Day Two
Stevens Point, Wis. - The second day of competition at the WIAC Indoor Championships yielded one more event champion and more podium finishes for the Pioneers. In all, four school records were either met or broken over the course of the championship weekend. From day one, Brittany Ehlen established a new school record in the women's pole vault and Rodrick McMiller broke the men's long jump school record.
The men's high jump champion title was crowned to sophomore Noah Steiner. Steiner won by clearing a school-record-tying bar of 2.08m (6-9.75). Establishing a new personal best for himself, Steiner finds his mark to be tied for No. 7 on the national qualifying list.
After breaking the school record in the long jump during day one of competition, Rodrick McMiller ran for third place in the 60m dash final heat. McMiller ran through the finish line at a personal best time of 6.95 seconds. This time places him tied for No. 22 on the national qualifying list in the 60m dash. Later in the day, McMiller continued to best his time in the 200m dash running for fourth place in 22.23. His time in the 200m dash ties the UW-Platteville school record, as well as ties for No. 18 on the national qualifying list.
Three Pioneer men found their way into the top three of their events. Walker Rynes finished on the heels of UW-Eau Claire's Darin Lau in the men's 3,000m. Rynes took 2nd place running 8:30.16. Charlie Gifford crossed the line in the 60m hurdles with a lifetime best time of 8.29 seconds for third place. Cody Faust took third in the heptathlon with 4700 points. Teammate Jake Hirsbrunner finished in 7th place with 4566 points.
Two Pioneer women made the podium on day two in their individual events. Johanna Meister posted a time of 2:20.62 in the women's 800m to take 6th place. Janelle Ferguson took 8th place in the 3,000m run with a time of 10:30.99.
Other notable finishes from day two include Alex Walechka and Sean Cormican in the men's weight throw, as well as Rachel Beuthin in the women's weight throw. Walechka threw 15.89m (51-1.75) to take 11th place; Cormican threw 15.77m (51-9) for 12th place. Beuthin finished 10th in the women's weight throw with a throw of 14.49m (47-6.5). Beuthin improved on her previous personal best throw by nearly 0.25m. Zach Lee finished in 10th place in the men's 800m run with a time of 1:57.58. Junior Chenoa Stuhr placed 13th in the women's 200m dash running a personal best of 26.47 seconds.
The 4x400m relay team of Katie Schilling, Briana Iwans, Kaitlyn Galgon, and Johanna Meister ran for 6th place crossing in 4:04.71. The men's 4x400m relay team of Riley Bendorf, Matt Hokanson, Blake DeMunck, and Kyle Buechner also finished in 6th place with a time of 3:25.07.
The Pioneer men's track and field team finished in fifth place in team scores with 76 points. UW-La Crosse won the meet with 157.5, followed by UW-Whitewater with 105, UW-Stevens Point with 90, UW-Eau Claire with 88, UW-Platteville 76, UW-Oshkosh with 73.5, UW-Stout with 66.5, and UW-River Falls with 6.5 points.
The Pioneer women's track and field team finished in seventh in team scores with 23 points. UW-La Crosse won the meet with 201.5 points. UW-Eau Claire took second with 153.5 followed by UW-Oshkosh with 89, UW-Stout with 67.5, UW-Stevens Point with 67, UW-Whitewater with 51.5, UW-Platteville with 23, and UW-River Falls with 9 points.
The Pioneers look forward to the UW-Platteville Final Qualifying Meet hosted at Williams Fieldhouse on Friday, March 2. Athletes look to qualify to the national meet hosted in Birmingham, AL on March 9 - 10. To qualify in an individual event, men must rank in the top 15 of their event and women must rank in the top 17 of their event. The top 12 relay teams will be accepted into competition.
