Seven Pioneers Take First Place in Events at Wartburg Select

On Saturday, Feb. 3, The UW-Platteville track and field team traveled to Wartburg College in Waverly, IA for the Wartburg Indoor Select. Teams in attendance included Wartburg College, St. Thomas University, Simpson College, Central College, University of Dubuque, and UW-River Falls.

Five men from the UW-Platteville track and field team finished their events in first place. Rodrick McMiller won the 60m dash in a new college best time of 7.04 seconds. McMiller came in fourth in the long jump, also with a new college best of 6.53m (21-5.25). Ben Nemec won the 1000m run crossing the line in 2:35.96. Noah Steiner won the high jump with a new personal best jump of 2.01m (6-7). Josh Miller won the pole vault with 4.35m (14-3.25). Last but not least, junior Brian Spaeth won triple jump besting his lifetime best jump with a mark of 13.69m (44-11).

A trio of Pioneer men took second place in their events. Freshman Zach Frei placed second in the 200m dash in 23.08 seconds. Junior Zach Lee placed second in the 800m in 1:56.55. Also taking second place was Charlie Gifford in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.37. Teammate Matt Hokanson finished in sixth in the 60m hurdles with 8.74 seconds.

Notable finishes came from Kyle Buechner, who took fifth in the 400m in 51.34. Riley Bendorf ran for eighth place at 51.79.

The 4x400m relay of Bendorf, Hokanson, Blake DeMunck, and Buechner ran for second place closely behind Wartburg, closing the race in 3:24.06.

Freshman Alex Girad improved on his personal best throw in the weight throw to 15.04m (49-4.25) to take fifth place. Cole Eastlick placed eighth in the final flight of men's shot put with a throw of 14.00m (45-11.25).

Cody Faust and Jacob Hirsbrunner competed in their first heptathlon of the season. Faust took second place finishing the two day event with 4774 points, placing him No. 13 on the national leaderboard. Hirsbrunner finished in fifth place scoring 4035 points.

The Pioneer women had two first place finishes on Saturday. Junior Brittany Ehlen set a new school record by improving on her lifetime personal best to 3.67m (12-0.5) to win the pole vault. Ehlen currently sits tied for No. 10 on the national qualifying list. Janelle Ferguson won the mile with a personal best time of 5:18.14. Teammate Katie Wardinski placed third in the 5,000m run crossing the line in 18:51.93.

The sprints and hurdle events showcased prosperous performances. Chenoa Stuhr and Briana Iwans finished third and fourth respectively in the 200m dash. Stuhr finished with a time of 26.73, a lifetime personal best. Iwans crossed in 26.99 seconds. The 4x200m relay team of Stuhr, Aurora Roberson, Antgentina Bean, and Rachel Aumueller took second place with 1:49.54. Freshman Katie Schilling placed fifth in the 60m hurdles with a personal best time of 9.44 seconds.

Rachel Beuthin threw for fourth place in the shot put final flight, throwing 12.23m (40-1.5). Teammate Brianna Hall threw a personal best in the weight throw, just missing finals with a throw of 13.85m (45-5.25).

Lindsay Dujardin finished her first pentathlon of the season, scoring 1835 points.

The UW-Platteville track and field team, along with the Wartburg track and field team, honored two individuals at intermission during the meet. The Pioneers honored teammate Tonie Johnson, presenting him with a donation to help pay for costs as he battles cancer. All athletes and coaches in attendance on Saturday took part in a one lap cancer survivor and remembrance walk.

The Pioneers will host their next meet, the UW-Platteville Invitational, at Williams Fieldhouse on Saturday, Feb. 10.