Pioneers capitalize on final home track and field meet of the season

Platteville, Wis. - With one week to go until the WIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, UW-Platteville hosted the Border Battle on Friday, April 30. Several Pioneers seized the opportunity of the gorgeous spring day to improve on their season best times and marks. Teams in attendance included UW-Whitewater, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Oshkosh, and University of Dubuque. 

Pioneer Women

Gwen Orr improved on her school record time in the 100m dash, finishing in second place with a time of 12.33 seconds. Orr also took second in the 200m dash, running a time of 25.55 seconds. Orr is tied with the fifth best time in the WIAC when it comes to the 100m dash, ninth best time in the 200m dash. 

Casey Rielly ran a personal best time of 15.70 seconds in the 100m hurdles to take third at the meet. Rielly also competed in the 4x100m relay, along with Orr, Kayla Lipsey, and Grace Guetschow. The team ran 49.94 to take third place. Rielly then competed in pole vault where she cleared 3.28m (10-9).

In the 1500m, Caitlin Gorge ran a personal best time of 4:59.75. Also running a personal best time, Kirstie Ramsey clocked 2:22.42. 

Running the 400m dash, Kaitlyn Galgon ran 58.89 seconds, the fifth fastest time in the WIAC currently. The 4x400m relay consisting of Jessica Buss, Ramsey, Jenna Guddie, and Katie Schilling won the event with a time of 4:05.93. 

Jordan Meciej took third place in the pole vault, clearing a bar just shy of her personal best,  3.43m (11-3).

Grace Daehling finished the javelin in seventh place with a personal best throw of 23.28m (76-4).

Alexis Healey saw a personal best in the long jump, marking a jump of 5.28m (17-4). In the triple jump, Kelli Schneider finished the day in sixth place with a jump of 10.54m (34-7).

Taking fourth at the meet, Paulina Wienke threw 43.14m (141-6) in the hammer throw. Wienke took sixth in the shot put (11.47m, 37-7.75) and seventh in the discus (36.26m, 118-11).

In the hammer throw, Jackie Bergschultz and Paige Taylor followed in sixth place and ninth place respectively. Bergshultz threw 39.38m (129-2) and Taylor threw 34.80m (114-2). 

Brianna Leahy finished with a second place finish in the shot put (13.56m, 44-6), third in the discus throw (38.92m, 127-8). 

Pioneer Men

Bryce Bierman cleared a new personal best bar in the high jump, 2.03m (6-8), to tie for second place. Bierman has the third best mark in the conference high jump standings. Teammate Daniel Inyang finished in fourth place with a clearance of 1.93m (6-4). 

Winning the hammer throw and discus events, Alexander Walechka threw a personal best of 57.17m (187-7) in the hammer throw and 52.22m (171-4) in the discus. Walechka currently has the third best hammer throw mark and second best discus mark in the conference. 

Cleaning up second and third place as well in the discus, Pioneers Justin Eichler and Ben Veverka finished with marks of 48.89m (160-5) and 47.56m (156-0) respectively. Eichler, Veverka, and Walechka are among the top 10 competitors in the WIAC when it comes to the discus throw.

Isaac Nouansacksy cleared 4.14m (13-7) in the pole vault to finish in sixth place. Teammates Jacob Keller and Ryan Traut tied for seventh place with a clearance of 3.84m (12-7.25).

Throwing a personal best in the javelin, Zach Schell threw 40.35m (132-4), taking sixth place in the event.

Long jumpers Adam Wildman, Drew Stanioch, and Owen Miller cleaned up second, seventh, and ninth place respectively in the event. Wildman jumped a personal best of 6.89m (22-7.25) and currently is tied with the fifth best jump in the WIAC. Stanioch jumped 6.73m (22-1), breaking over 22 feet for the first time. Miller finished with a jump of 6.62m (21-8.75). 

In the 100m dash, Cade VanHout ran 10.83 seconds in finals to take third place. VanHout currently has the sixth best 100m dash time in the WIAC. Josh Katers and Dane Adams ran 11.38 and 11.39 respectively for a pair of personal best times. 

In the 3,000m steeplechase, freshman Riley Coulter ran a personal best of 9:57.66 to qualify to the conference championships. 

Jason Voelker ran a personal best in the 1500m, finishing in 4:08.88. Freshman Jeffrey Smolinksi ran just short of his personal best in the 800m, crossing the finish line in 1:58.59 for third place. Caleb Christiansen worked with freshman RJ Migas in the 5,000m run to achieve a personal best time of 16:09.93 for Migas. 

In the 400m hurdles, Sean Komro took second place with a time of 57.44 seconds. Komro finished in fifth for the 110m hurdles with a time of 16.20 seconds. 

Jacob Downing ran a season best time in the 400m dash of 50.16 seconds to finish in second place. Downing along with Cole Stugelmeyer, Jacob Rice, and VanHout ran 42.10 seconds in the 4x100m relay.

Up Next

The Pioneers will be traveling to UW-River Falls for the 2021 WIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships Friday, May 7 - Saturday, May 8. For information regarding the conference championships, visit wiacsports.com