Steiner and Gifford take home first place hardware at WIAC Championships

Oshkosh, Wis. – The Pioneers competed on day two of the WIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, crowning two event champions – Noah Steiner in the high jump and Charlie Gifford in the 60-meter hurdles. The UW-Platteville men's track and field team scored 39 points in team scores, and placed seventh in the conference. The Pioneer women's track and field team also finished in seventh place as a team, scoring 36 points.

Hurdles

Charlie Gifford reaped the rewards of his efforts in the 60-meter hurdles final, leaping to the finish in 8.15 seconds. Gifford won the event by 0.06 seconds, becoming a two-time indoor conference champion in the 60-meter hurdles.

Jumps

Senior Noah Steiner became champion in the high jump after clearing 2.06m (6-9). Teammate Bryce Bierman, a sophomore from Reedsburg, Wis., took third place with a break-through performance of 2.01m (6-7).

In the men's triple jump, Damani White finished in ninth place with a personal best jump of 13.49m (44-3.25). In the women's triple jump, freshman Kelli Schneider took 13^th place at her indoor conference championships debut. Schneider jumped 10.25m (33-7.5).

Middle Distance

In the women's 800-meter, senior Johanna Meister ran a personal best time of 2:16.09 and finished in second place. Meister out kicked third place by only 0.07 seconds at the finish line. Caitlyn Ifft ran a season best time of 2:26.20.

Sophomore Ben Trihey led the way for the Pioneer men in the men's 800-meter. Trihey finished in 11^th place with a time of 1:58.83. Jason Voelker and Tyler Doering both ran personal best times, running 2:00.11 and 2:00.27 respectively.

Weight Throw

Alexander Walechka and Alex Girard qualified to the finals in the weight throw. Walechka threw a personal best in the finals of 17.22m (56-6) and took sixth place. Girard also threw a personal best, marking 17.08m (56-0.5), and took seventh place.

Sprints and Relays

Gwen Orr ran a personal best time in the women's 200-meter, breaking her own school record. Orr finished in second place with a time of 25.57 seconds. Zach Frei ran a personal best in the men's 200-meter, clocking 22.50 seconds.

 In the men's 4x400-meter relay, the team of Frei, Matt Hokanson, Paul Rapp, and Jacob Downing took third place with a time of 3:21.73. The women's 4x400-meter relay, consisting of Jessica Buss, Orr, Johanna Meister, and Katie Schilling, ran a season best time of 4:05.16 for seventh place.

Pentathlon and Heptathlon

In the pentathlon, consisting of 5 events (60-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump, and the 800-meter run), Cassandra Meyer competed for a personal best score of 2,557 points and took 12^th place. Meyer had personal best marks in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 10.64 seconds, shot put 9.86m (32-4.25), and long jump 4.83m (15-10.25). Katheryn Holter scored 2,215 points and took 16^th place. Holter threw a personal best in the shot put of 9.18m (30-1.5) and ran a personal best time in the 800-meter, clocking 2:30.49.

In day two of the heptathlon, Jacob Rice and Hunter Liddell competed in the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault, and the 1,000-meter run. Overall, Liddell finished in 13^th place with a personal best score of 4,439 points. Rice finished in 15^th place with 4,278 points. Liddell ran a personal best time in the 60-meter hurdles, running 9.52 seconds. In the pole vault, Liddell cleared a personal best bar of 3.91m (12-10).  Liddell finished the day running a personal best time of 2:49.46 in the 1,000-meter.

Select individuals from the Pioneer track and field teams will be pursuing national caliber marks next weekend at the last chance meets, before qualifying to the NCAA DIII Indoor Track and Field National Championships hosted at JDL FastTrack in Winston-Salem, N.C.