Pioneers Compete At Eagle Open Friday

LA CROSSE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville track and field teams competed at the UW-La Crosse Eagle Open on Friday evening inside Veterans Memorial Stadium in La Crosse.

Men's Highlights

Senior Justin Eichler posted a mark of 65.46m (214' 9") to win the hammer throw for the fifth time this outdoor season. All six of his throws on the day would have won the event and his winning toss was over eight meters further than the second-place finisher.

The Pioneers 4x400m relay team of Spencer Vanek, Kaeden Weberpal, James Ketterer, and Zach Zenner finished second in the event with a season-best time of 3:13.62. That mark is the third fastest time in program history and moves the quartet up to 10th among times in DIII.

Senior Daniel Inyang finished as the runner-up in the high jump with a mark of 1.98m (6' 6").

Sophomore McKade Jelinek placed second in the discus with a toss of 51.92m (170' 4") on his second throw of the day.

In the javelin, junior Samuel LaPean took third with a throw of 47.91m (157' 2") on his first attempt of the day. Sophomore Evan Graves placed eighth in the event at 40.40m (132' 6").

Sophomore Caden Schneider competed in the 3000m steeplechase at the St. Francis Fighting Chance Invite in Joliet, Illinois and broke the UW-Platteville school record in the event. He ran a time of 9:01.62 to finish second at the meet and broke the program's previous best time of 9:07.2 set in 1989.

Women's Highlights

Junior Brenna Noon claimed a third-place finish in the shot put with a mark of 13.39m (43' 11.25"). She also took ninth in the hammer throw with a new personal-best of 45.67m (149' 10").

Senior Jessica Buss posted a time of 1:05.22 in the 400m hurdles to place fourth overall in the field of 13. In the 400m, junior Margaret Rusch placed seventh overall with a time of 1:01.18.

Sophomore Avery Brown took sixth in the 5000m behind a personal-best time of 19:12.21. That time was nearly 40 seconds faster than her previous best in the event.

Sophomore Leah Digmann set a new PR in the 1500m with a ninth-place finish at 4:58.88.

Up Next

The Pioneers will look to hit any final NCAA qualifying marks at the Augustana Last Chance next Thursday in Rock Island, Ill.