The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's track and field team finished second in the eight-team field at the Leonard "Squig" Converse Invitational hosted by the Warhawks Friday evening.
Christian Patzka (Black Earth, Wis./Wisconsin Heights) set the program record as UWW swept the top three positions in the 3,000 meter run.
Patzka set a blistering pace in the 3,000 crossing the finish line in 3:09.76 to break the program record by nearly six seconds. That clocking is currently sixth fastest in NCAA Division III so far this indoor season. Teammates
Gunner Schlender (Brillion, Wis./Brillion) and
Dan Anderson (Eau Claire, Wis./McDonell) made it a top three sweep with times of 8:18.14 and 8:36.94 respectively.
Three Warhawks in addition to Patzka took gold Friday.
Brayden Zettle (Monroe, Wis./Monroe) was tops in the triple jump with a leap of 14.63 meters.
Kobe Chandler (Beloit, WI/Memorial) led a contingent of four UWW runners to add points to the team total with a first-place clocking of 51.03 in the 400.
Brad Heller (Brookfield, WI/East),
Will Kaashagen (Cambridge, Wis./Cambridge) and
Wyatt Baker (Wayzata, MN) also finished among the top eight in the event.
Justin Krause (Ixonia, Wis./Pewaukee) was the first to cross the finish line in the 800 with a time of 1:55.79.
Colin Lewandowski (Elmhurst, Ill./York) and
Landen Bratt (Waukesha, Wis./West) finished in seventh and eighth respectively.
Cam Hughes (St. Charles, IL/North) and
Carsen Rindt (Appleton, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) tallied a pair of top eight finishes each. They took the 60-meter dash to a photo finish after tying with a time of 7.02 to finish in third and fourth respectively. The pair finished sixth and eighth in the 200 led by Hughes' clocking of 23.19.
Marlon Cystrunk (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) added fourth-place points to the team total after registering a time of 8.80 in the 60 hurdles.
Cole Worrall (Rhinelander, WI) finished seventh in the event.
In the final track event of the day, UWW finished second in the 4x400 combining for a time of 3:27.67.
Chris Bitz (Brookfield, Wis./East) led the charge in the field events with a runner-up finish in the pole vault. He posted a height of 4.50 meters Friday.
Josh Krystosek (Palmyra, Wis./Palmyra-Eagle) added third-place points to the team total with a height of 1.95 in the high jump.
Spencer Steffen (Appleton, Wis./West) was fourth in the event with a height of 1.90 meters.
In the throws,
Sean Larsen (Waukesha, Wis./South) finished sixth (15.52) in the weight throw while
Brady Frey (Brookfield, WI/East) was eighth (12.38) in the shot put.
The women will compete in day two of the Squig Converse Invitational Saturday along with the completion of the heptathlon and pentathlon.
