Season best performances fall at UW-Platteville Invitational
Williams Fieldhouse housed sixteen track and field teams competing at the UW-Platteville Invitational. Teams attending included Beloit College, Carroll College, Carthage College, Coe College, Concordia Wisconsin, University of Dubuque, Hawkeye College, Loras College, North Park University, Luther College, MSOE, Ripon College, Rockford University, Trinity College, Viterbo, and Milwauke Lutheran College.
The Pioneers capitalized on the day with many season best performances on the track and in the field events. Rodrick McMiller took second place in the 60m dash, crossing the finish in a college best of 7.01 seconds. McMiller also placed second in the long jump, with a college best jump of 6.82m (22-4.5).
Zach Lee finished the 800m in 1:57.19 to win the event. Senior Ben Nemec finished in fourth place with a time of 1:59.44.
Sophomore Alex Clark ran for a college best in the 5,000m run, finishing in 15:48.23 for fourth place. Teammate Logan Steinhoff took sixth in 15:51.54.
The sophomore duo of Charlie Gifford and Matt Hokanson both ran personal bests in the 60m hurdles. Gifford won the event with a time of 8.31, placing him at No. 17 on the national qualifying list. Hokanson crossed the line in fourth place in 8.55 seconds.
Jumping over a two-inch personal best, Noah Steiner won the high jump clearing 2.07m (6-9.5). After Saturday, Steiner sits at No. 9 on the national qualifying list.
In the men's pole vault, Josh Miller took first place with a 4.45m (14-7.25) vault and freshman Evan Tust took third, omitting unattached athletes, with a new personal best of 4.30m (14-1.25).
Junior Brian Spaeth jumped 13.15m (43-1.75) to win the men's triple jump. Teammate James Kerns took fifth place jumping 12.58m (41-3.25).
Taking fourth place in the men's weight throw, freshman Alex Girard threw a personal best of 16.15m (53-0).
The personal bests continued to fall on the home track for the Pioneer women. In the 60m dash, junior Chenoa Stuhr ran a personal best of 8.11 seconds for fourth place.
Senior Briana Iwans finished third in the 400m dash crossing the line in 1:01.64. In the 200m dash, Iwans took fourth place running 26.90. Freshman teammate Gwen Orr finished in seventh place in the 200m dash with a personal best of 27.33 seconds, while Rachel Aumueller crossed close behind in 27.54 seconds for ninth place. Taking seventh in the finals of the 60m hurdles, Katie Schilling finished in 9.52 seconds.
Two women finished in the top 5 of the 800m dash. Caitlyn Ifft crossed in 2:24.52, a college best good enough for fourth place. Kayla Schneider crossed in 2:27.19, a season best for fifth place.
In the women's mile run, Johanna Meister finished first among college competition running a personal best time of 5:11.38. Teammates Janelle Ferguson and Katie Wardinski finished second and fourth respectively in the 3,000m run. Ferguson running in 10:44.28 for a new personal best time. During the 5,000m run, senior Mariah Brown finished with a college best time of 19:36.71 for fourth place.
Brittany Ehlen won the women's pole vault event, clearing 3.60m (11-9.75). In the women's throwing events, Rachel Beuthin threw 13.21m (43-4.25) in the shot put to take second place.
In the upcoming week, the UW-Platteville track and field team will travel to University of Dubuque for the Spartan Invitational on Friday, Feb. 16.
