The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's and women's track & field teams competed in the Phil Esten Challenge in La Crosse, Wisconsin, against conference opponents, NCAA Division II, & NCAA Division I schools. 

After the first day of events, the Warhawk men sit in 6th place with 37 total points while the women rank 5th with 35 points. 

The running events started off with the 4x100 relays. The women's 4x100 squad finished second overall, but the first Division III finishers with a 46.26. Danielle Pouska (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs), Alyssa Stacy (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore), Kelly Huerta (McHenry, Ill./McHenry), & Cici Stennett (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) wrote their names as the second-best time in Warhawk history. The men's relay of Traysen Thomason (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater), Kayden Baumgart (Mount Horeb, Wis./Mount Horeb), Ben Bojar (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee), and Ayodele Bateye (Saint Charles, Ill./North) timed in at 41.02 taking fourth overall. 

Later in the day, the Warhawk men's 4x400 won the relay, timing in at 3:13.48. The squad of James Williams (Green Bay, Wis./Bay Port), Jack Erickson (Belleville, Wis./Belleville), Gabe Ubert (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha South), & Chris Kalies (Grafton, Wis./Grafton) set the 4th-best time in DIII this season & 3rd best time in the Warhawk record books. 

The women's 4x400 relay team of Kiersten Dellar (Waukesha, Wis./Watertown Lutheran Prep), Hannah Wahl-Bilodeau, Sydney Moore (Sauk Prairie, Wis./Sauk Prairie), & Sophie Beightol (Belgium, Wis./Cedar Grove-Belgium) timed in at 3:56.62m, third overall in the event. 

The men's 110m hurdles kicked off the individual track events. Kaiden Porep (Elkhorn, Wis./Elkhorn) led the Warhawks in the event, finishing 11th overall with a 15.57 finish. 

In the women's 100m Dash, the Warhawks had two qualifiers for the finals. Cici Stennett (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) posted the 5th-fastest time in the qualifiers with a 12.02, the 22nd-fastest at the Division III level this season. In the finals, Stennet timed in at 12.12, taking second overall. Alyssa Stacy (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) only competed in her qualifying race, placing 7th overall with a 12.12. 

On the men's side of the 100m Dash, Kayden Baumgart (Mount Horeb, Wis./Mount Horeb) finished 12th out of 78 runners. Baumgart crossed at 10.70. 

In the 400m hurdles, Wes Olsson (Sussex, Wis./Sussex-Hamilton) was the top Warhawks on the men's side, finishing 20th overall with a 58.33. For the women, Kaitlyn Remke (Johnsburg, Ill./Marian Central) completed her lap at 1:08.33, tying for 10th best in program history. 

The Warhawk men had a strong showing in the 800m, with four finishing in the top-15. Drew Davey (Elkhorn, Wis./Elkhorn) led the way with a podium finish, placing 4th overall with a 1:52.39, the 18th fastest time in DIII this year. Josh Anhalt (West Bend, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) -- 1:55.11, James Belus (Oconomowoc, Wis./) -- 1:55.28, and Rhett Reuter (Darlington, Wis./Darlington) -- 1:55.31, finished 12th, 13th, & 14th, respectively. 

For the women's 800m, Addi Kowalewski (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) placed 12th overall. The freshman finished her two laps in 2:20.31, ranking 7th best in Warhawk history.

The Warhawks had two podium finishers in the 3000m steeplechase. Jonah Block (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay) & Keegan Bratt (Waukesha, Wis./West) placed 8th & 9th to score the team points with 9:26.64 & 9:26.80 times. For the women, Emma Skelton (Mt. Prospect, Ill./Mt. Prospect) had the top Warhawk time with a 12:29.19 to finish 22nd overall. 

In the 200m Dash, Kayden Baumgart (Mount Horeb, Wis./Mount Horeb) led the Warhawks with an 18th-place finish out of almost 90 runners. Baumgart timed in at 21.99. Ayodele Bateye (Saint Charles, Ill./North) placed 22nd with a 22.13 finish. On the women's side, Alyssa Tacy reached the podium with a 24.96 finish, finishing 8th overall. Angela Dale (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet) was the next top Warhawk with a 25.28 timing to place 14th out of over 75 runners.

In the 1500m, Brandon Massman (Belvidere, Ill./North) & Alex Metko (Brillion, Wis./Brillon) led the men. Massman placed 8th overall with a 3:58.47 while Metko timed in at 4:00.58 for 13th place. In the women's 1500, Katie Erb (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) placed 8th with a 4:41.08, a new personal best.

To round out the running events on the night, the 10K took place under the lights in La Crosse. Abi Anderson (Janesville, Wis./Craig) opened up the first heat of the women's with a 38:35.13, the 3rd best time in school history. Anderson's time ranked 20th overall in the last event of Thursday night. 

For the throws, Jordan Jackson (Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) topped the Warhawks in the shot put with a 13.75m (45-1.25) toss to place 29th overall. Sam Vargas (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) led the Warhawks with a 45.07m (147-10.00) toss in the javelin. For the women, Ava Falk (Kaneland, IL/Kaneland) had a 21.10m (88-11.00) throw for 17th overall in the javelin.

Caitlin Zingsheim (Milton, Wis./Milton) had the top mark for the Warhawks in the hammer throw. Zingsheim threw for 45.70m (149-11.00) on her second attempt to place 15th overall. Zingsheim also placed 9th in the discus, throwing for 41.08m (137-2.00).

Connor Fontaine (De Pere, Wis./De Pere) had a career night, placing 5th overall in the discus with a 50.52m (165-9.00) toss. Fontaine's mark ranks 8th in the Warhawk record books.

In the jumping pits, Lexie Weier (Mineral Point, WI/Mineral Point) and Emily Mohs (Germantown, Wis./Germantown) both reached the finals. Mohs placed 9th overall with an 11.01m (36-1.50) jump. Weier finished 8th, using her first jump of finals to reach 11.05m (36-3.00). Aiden Neduzak (Nekoosa, Wis./Nekoosa) led the men's side, finishing 12th overall in the triple jump with a 13.89m (45-6.75) leap.

Cherish Smith (Beloit, Wis./Turner) placed on the podium in the long jump, leaping 5.57m (18-3.25) to place 6th overall. On the men's side of the long jump, Connor Anderson (Waukesha, Wis./North) placed 13th overall, reaching 6.67m (21-10.50).

In pole vault, Jack Froslee (Andover, Minn./Andover) led the men, clearing the 4.67m (15-3.75) bar to take 13th overall out of the nearly 60 vaulters. 

In the other vertical jumps, Jer'Von Anderson (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) placed second overall, but reached the highest bar of the night. Anderson surpassed the 2.01m (6-7.25) bar on his second attempt, only placing second to a Division I opponent who cleared the 2.01m bar on his first attempt. 

The remaining events will finish on Friday, April 16th. Competing for the Warhawks are Jackson Koppen (Sun Prairie, Wis./East) & Blake Moberg (Little Chute, Wis./Little Chute) in the decathlon and Grace Wood (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) plus Jeana Roscoe (Grayslake, Ill./North) in the heptathlon. Koppen ranks 8th with 3362 total points in the men's event.