The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's track & field team competed at the UW-Stevens Point Big Dawg Invite on Saturday, February 7th.

The men's team was highlighted by taking the top three spots in the 60m, 60m Hurdles, and 200m. 

Sam Vargas made his return to the track with the 30th best time in NCAA Division III, winning the 60m dash with a time of 6.87. The Warhawks claimed the top three spots with Traysen Thomason (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) and Ben Bojar (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee) following Vargas with a time of 7.01 and 7.03 respectively. 

In the 60m Hurdles, the Warhawks took the top three spots in the final. Tristan Ropiak (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine's) leaded the crew with a season-best 8.66. Kaiden Porep (Elkhorn, Wis./Elkhorn) placed second with a 8.71, followed by Wes Olsson (Sussex, Wis./Sussex-Hamilton), with a personal best of 8.90. 

Wrapping up the strong day of sprints, Chris Kalies (Grafton, Wis./Grafton) marked a season-best 22.11 in the 200m dash to take first overall in the event. Jack Erickson (Belleville, Wis./Belleville) and Brad Heller (Brookfield, WI/East) also had season bests for their second (22.52) and third 22.68) place finishes. 

The Warhawks had 3 in the top-five of the mile as well. Tucker Johnson (Poynette, Wis./Poynette) led the way with a personal-best 4:24.25 to take second overall. Brandon Massman (Belvidere, Ill./North) also ran a personal best 4:25.73 to take third. Kody Wassman (Ormsby, Minn./Mountain Lake) followed behind with a 4:28.37, for fourth place.

Over in the field events,  Daniel Nickel (Marshall, Wis./Marshall) placed first overall in the high jump with the 68th best height in Division III with a 1.95m jump for a new personal best. 

Jack Froslee and Brady Schaller (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) placed one-two in the pole vault. Schaller reached the 4.45m bar, with Froslee taking the event clearing the 4.60m bar.

In the throws, Connor Fontaine (De Pere, Wis./De Pere) led the Warhawks with a 14.40m toss to take third in the shot put. Jordan Jackson (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) placed third in the weight throw with a 15.31m toss on his third attempt of the day.

For the horizontal jumps, Lincoln Begin (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield) placed third in the long jump with a 6.84m leap. In the triple jump, Max Wallace (West Allis, Wis./Hale) marked a 12.63m to place third overall in the event. 

The Warhawk track & field teams will return home for their next meet, hosting the Midwest Elite Invite on February 13th and 14th in Whitewater.