2015-16 UW-Platteville Track and Field News
For the second straight year, the women's team along with five individuals of the UW-Platteville Track and Field teams were acknowledged by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in the organization's 2016 NCAA Division III All-Academic Honors.
Patti Laufenberg has been announced as the newest addition to the track and field/Cross Country coaching staff.
The men’s track and field earned a trophy with a fourth place finish at the NCAA Championships. Saturday, the third and final day of the championships, brought the most points for the Pioneers.
Two Pioneers advanced to finals during Friday’s preliminaries.
Ian LaMere won his second consecutive 10,000m national title during day one of the NCAA Championships.
The UW-Platteville Pioneers are sending the largest contingency in program history to the NCAA Championships. The No. 4 ranked men are sending 11 competitors while the No. 21 ranked women are sending four.
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) awarded Ian LaMere and Amber Williams Midwest Regional Athlete of the Year awards while Coach Andres Young earned the Midwest Regional Assistant Coach of the Year award.
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) awarded seven Pioneers with All-Region honors on Monday. To be named All-Region, an athlete must either be ranked in the top-5 of an individual event in the region.
Thursday was the final day of qualifying for the NCAA Championships and the relays step up to the plate to punch their tickets into the national meet. The top-15 relay times qualify to the NCAA Championships and going into the UW-La Crosse Final Qualifier none of the Pioneer relays had a guaranteed spot at the national meet.
Amber Williams was named WIAC Field Performer of the Meet for her performance at the WIAC Championships. Williams broke the 100m hurdle and triple jump school records with her fourth and second place finishes respectively. Williams also won the long jump, finished second in the high jump and led off the 4x400 meter relay to a 3rd place finish.
The Pioneer men scored a program record 116 points at this year’s WIAC Championships. The men finished fourth behind UW-La Crosse’s 201 points, host UW-Whitewater’s 141.5 points and UW-Oshkosh’s 130 points. The Pioneer women scored a better than expected 62.66, the second highest score for the women’s program in the past 10 years. The women finished seventh overall ahead of UW-River Falls’ 11.5 points. UW-La Crosse took the team title with 238 points.
Records fall as multiple Champions were crowned on Day 1 of the WIAC Championships. The No. 6 nationally ranked men finished the day leading with 51 points, ahead of No. 4 ranked La Crosse’s 45.5 points.
The Pioneers came away with multiple champions and a new school record during the Augustana Meet of Champions on Friday and Saturday.
Multiple records fell during the UW-Platteville Invitational, one of the most competitive Division 3 meets in the country. The non-scored two-day invite included six top-10 nationally ranked men’s teams; No. 1 UW-La Crosse, No. 2 UW-Whitewater, No. 3 UW-Eau Claire, No. 8 UW-Steven Point, No. 9 UW-Oshkosh, and No. 10 UW-Platteville. On the women’s side, six top-20 nationally ranked teams participated; No. 1 UW-La Crosse, No. 7 UW-Eau Claire, No. 11 UW-Oshkosh, No. 14 UW-Platteville, No. 15 UW-Stevens Point, and No. 17 UW-Stout.
The UW-Platteville Track and Field teams competed at the Ashton May Invitational on Saturday at UW-La Crosse. The 16 team invitational was held on a sunny but chilly day that saw temperatures stay in the 30s for most of the competition. The women came away with an 8th place finish while the men finished 3rd. Host UW-La Crosse won the women’s competition while Augustana pulled away with the men’s top spot.
Ian LaMere proves to be one of the greatest distance runners in Division III history.
