Track and Field ready for WIAC Outdoor Championships

Platteville, Wis.- The University of Wisconsin-Platteville track and field program will send 59 student-athletes to the 2022 WIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship (presented by Culver's) hosted by UW-La Crosse. The championship will begin on Friday, May 6 and finish on Saturday, May 7.

The women's program will send 25 student-athletes, highlighted by seniors Brianna Leahy and Gwen Orr. Leahy will compete in the shot put and discus, while Orr is scheduled to compete in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays.

Leahy enters the championships as the top seed in the conference and holds the top mark in the nation in the shot put. Her toss of 15.34 meters at the 29th Annual Meet of Champions on April 22 is the sixth best throw in NCAA Division III history. Leahy will also compete in the discus. She enters with the fourth best throw in the WIAC and 12th nationally.

Orr will look to add another conference title to her resume after winning the 60-meter dash at the 2022 WIAC Indoor Championships. She will be the number one seed in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. She sits tied for seventh nationally in the 100-meter and 10th in the 200-meter.

Freshman Brenna Noon will join Leahy in the shot put competition. She enters fourth in the WIAC and 15th nationally. Senior Paulina Wienke will compete in the shot put, discus and hammer throw.

The men's program will send 34 student-athletes to the WIAC Outdoor Championships. Junior Justin Eichler enters as the top seed in the hammer throw. Eichler tossed the hammer 60.39 meters at the Ashton May Invitational on April 9. His toss ranks second nationally.

Senior Alex Girard sits fourth in the WIAC and 15th nationally in the hammer with a toss of 55.13 meters at the UW-Whitewater Drake Alternative meet on April 29.

Seniors Alexander Walechka and Ben Veverka sit second and third in the WIAC in the discus throw. Walechka's best toss of the year comes in at 50.39 meters, while Veverka's best is 49.29 meters. Walechka is currently ranked ninth in the national, while Veverka is 17th.

Veverka will also compete in the shot put, where he comes in fifth in the WIAC and 20th nationally.

Junior Cade VanHout will compete in the 100- and 200-meter dash. An Indoor All-American in the 60-meter dash, VanHout enters the 100-meter dash with the second-best time in the WIAC and 10th nationally at 10.50 seconds. He is fourth in the WIAC and 21st in the nation in the 200-meter.

Senior Bryce Bierman has cleared the best height in the high jump, clearing 2.03 meters at the Ashton May Invitational on April 9. He sits 12th nationally. Sophomore Daniel Inyang will look to improve on his top clearance of 2.00 meters in the high jump at the conference meet. Inyang is ranked fourth in the WIAC and 19th nationally.

Senior Jacob Rice will compete in the grueling decathlon. His best score of 6,460 currently ranks third in the WIAC and sixth nationally.

Following the conference meet, the Pioneers will compete in last chance meets throughout the Midwest to better their times, distances and score for a chance to be in the top 20 nationally. The top 20 nationally in each event will qualify for the 2022 NCAA Division III National Meet held in Geneva, Ohio. The national meet begins on Thursday, May 26 and finishes on Saturday, May 28.

To follow the Pioneers all season, visit www.Letsgopioneers.com for links for live stats, postgame recaps and links for the contests that are live streamed. Follow the official social media accounts of Pioneer Athletics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.