The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater track and field team competed in a pair of meets Friday and Saturday. The Warhawks sent a large contingent to the Meet of Champions hosted by Augustana where the men finished 4th of 25 and the women were 7th of 22. A smaller squad of mid-distance and distance runners represented UW-Whitewater at the Phil Esten Challenge in La Crosse.
MEET OF CHAMPIONS RECAP
In the track events,
Lena Becker (Toulon, Ill./Stark County) breached the top-ten in the 100m Hurdles with a time of 16.29, a personal best. On the men's side of the 110m Hurdles,
Tamir Thomas (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) placed fifth with a time of 15.11 and
Marlon Cystrunk (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) finished with a time of 15.21 for a seventh-place finish.
The Warhawk women's 4x100 placed fifth in their event, with a time of 49.07.
Tina Shelton (Janesville, Wis./Parker), a member of that 4x100 team, also excelled in her own event, placing first overall in the 100m. Shelton earned the gold with a time of 11.77. That mark breaks the Whitewater record again, which Shelton set two weekends ago at the Rex Foster Invite.
On the men's side of the 100m,
Carsen Rindt (Appleton, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) finished with a time of 10.72 which placed him sixth overall.
For the 400m hurdles,
Wyatt Baker (Wayzata, MN/) crossed the line at 1:00.16, finishing 11th overall,
Tyler Holldorf (Erie, Ill./Erie) was right behind Baker, finishing with a time of 1:01.30.
Erin Feldmeier (Glendale, Wis./Nicolet) competed in the Women's 400m Hurdles and crossed the line at 1:24.16, finishing 15th overall.
In the 4x400, the Whitewater Women placed third overall with a time of 4.10.14. That team consisted of
Katie McNamara (Geneva, Ill./Geneva),
Hannah Bilodeau (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem), Sarah Nieheuser, and
Abby Giese (Kenosha, Wis./Indian Trail). The men's 4x400 "A" team also placed third overall, that team consists of
Will Kaashagen (Cambridge, Wis./Cambridge),
Luke Zanis (St. Charles, Ill./North),
Marlon Cystrunk (DeForest, Wis./DeForest), and
Tamir Thomas (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls).
Brandon Massman (Belvidere, Ill./North) and
Will MacCudden (Slinger, Wis./Slinger) also earned top-5 finishes in the 5000m race. Massman crossed the line at 15:46.48, securing a second place spot. MacCudden crossed at 15:50.25, taking the fourth place spot.
For the field athletes,
Kenni Czarnecki (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) earned an eighth-place finish in the shot put, making a 39'10" (12.14m) toss. Czarnecki also recorded 36.14m (118-07) to finish 12th overall in the discus throw.
After her record-breaking performance in the 100m,
Tina Shelton (Janesville, Wis./Parker) also placed in the top-five of the javelin throw at 31.50m (103-04).
Tyler Jensen (Hilbert, Wis./Hilbert) recorded a 43.03m (141-02) throw in the men's javelin, placing sixth overall.
In the women's pole vault,
Margaret Helbig (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park and River Forest) cleared the 3.28m (10-09.00) bar in her first attempt to tie for third in the event.
Carleen Snow (Rio, Wis./DeForest) wasn't far behind Helbig, clearing the 3.13m (10-03.25) for a fourth placement. On the men's side of pole vault.
Chris Bitz (Brookfield, Wis./East) secure a position tied for fourth after clearing the 4.48m (14-08.25) bar.
Josh Krystosek (Palmyra, Wis./Palmyra-Eagle) earned gold in the high jump. Krystosek cleared the 2.02m (6-07.50) bar in his second attempt. Krystosek was unable to clear the 2.05m bar, but still placed first over the other jumpers.
Three Warhawks jumpers all placed within one meter of each other in the men's long jump.
Ethan Molzahn (Wauconda, IL/)—6.53m (21-05.25),
Tim Neumann (Waukesha, Wis./South)—6.46m (21-02.50), and
Christian Crump (Kenosha, Wis./Bradford)—6.44m (21-1.50). These three Warhawks finished eighth, ninth, and tenth in the event.
The Warhawks featured the top two scores in men's triple jump.
Shelvin Garrett II (Beloit, Wis./Memorial) made a 14.64m (48-00.50) jump on his third attempt to finish first in the event. Right behind him was
Brayden Zettle (Monroe, Wis./Monroe), finishing second at 14.58m (47-10.00). On the women's side of triple jump,
Rileigh Elgas (Janesville, Wis./Craig) started her tries strong with an impressive 10.64m (34-11.00) jump. That first jump boosted her to fifth place in the standings.
The Meet of Champions wrapped up Saturday with the finish of the multi events and hammer throw.
Jack McGinn (Madison, Wis./McFarland) won the decathlon with a total of 6334, a mark that ranks 12th nationally this season.
Brynn Oremus (Waukesha, Wis./West) contributed to the women's total finishing ninth in the heptathlon with a total of 2389.
Czarnecki capped her weekend with a first place finish in the hammer throw Saturday. She posted a distance of 50.09 meters (164-04), a top 25 mark in Division III.
Sean Larsen (Waukesha, Wis./South) added points to the team total with a sixth-place finish in the hammer throw. He registered a toss of 50.94 meters (167-01).
PHIL ESTEN CHALLENGE RECAP
A number of Warhawks competing in mid-distance and distance events represented UW-Whitewater at the Phil Esten Challenge hosted by UW-La Crosse Friday and Saturday.
Gunner Schlender (Brillion, Wis./Brillion) highlighted meet for the Warhawks winning the 10,000 in record time. Schlender's clocking of 29:20.58 broke the program record by nearly 25 seconds and currently ranks fifth nationally.
Christian Patzka (Black Earth, Wis./Wisconsin Heights) also added first place points to the UWW men's total with a time of 8:47.74 in the 3,000 steeplechase. That mark is currently third-fastest in Division III this season. Teammate
Chris Allen (Downers Grove, Ill./North) also competed in the event crossing the line in 9:41.26 to finish eighth.
Justin Krause (Ixonia, Wis./Pewaukee) finished fifth in the 1500 with a time of 3:51.99 at the meet. Two Warhawk women finished among the top eight to capture team points.
Payton Scoggin (Kenosha, Wis./Indian Trails) secured bronze with a time of 11:44.48 in the 3,000 steeplechase.
Paige Fassbender (Slinger, Wis./Slinger) was clocked in 2:17.26 in the 800 to take fifth.
