For UW-Eau Claire women’s indoor track and field team, it was a golden weekend: the Blugolds blew past their opponents at the UW-Oshkosh Titan Challenge on Saturday with a 40.5 lead in team scoring.

On the men’s side, Eau Claire came in second with 127 after Oshkosh’s 162.5 points.

Head Coach Chip Schneider said the weekend was full of qualifications and personal records. About 45 women and 27 men qualified for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) meet that will take place later this month.

“The weekend for us was really good,” Schneider said. “I was really happy with the way both teams came out of the Oshkosh meet.”

The women achieved their victory by their dominance in the field. The shot putters shone — JoHannah Theisen (senior), Erica Oawster (junior) and Kassandra Lueck (second-year) took the first three positions on the podium with throws of 46-2.75, 42-6.75 and 42-3.50, respectively.

The Eau Claire women’s jumps squad was also on point at the invite. Ashley Agrimson (first-year) won the long jump. Agrimson out-leapt her opponents 18-4.25. Meanwhile, second-years Kylie Schuettpelz and Jillian Moss took over the vertical game in the high jump. Schuettpelz and Moss placed second and third with jumps of 5-3.00 and 5-1.00.

Mic Hack (junior) added a second-place finish to the team’s pile with her pole vault of 10-11.75.

In addition to their strong showing in the field, Blugold women didn’t show mercy on the track.

On the sprint side of the invite, Eau Claire impressed in the 200-meter dash — six out of eight top finishers sported blue and gold. Leading the charge were Ashleigh Buergi and Kelsey Worachek, both seniors. The pair placed second and third with times of 25.46 and 26.16 seconds.

Worachek also earned a third-place finish with a time of 7.89 seconds in the 60-meter. Amy Chen (first-year) was right behind Worachek with a time of 7.96.

Saturday also held success for athletes in mid-distance events.

Sarah Glidden (senior)  and Buergi fought for a first and second-place finish in the 400-meter. Glidden was recorded at 57.46 and Buergi at 58.07 seconds.

With her finishes in the 200-meter and 400-meter races, Buergi qualified for the WIAC meet and set lifetime personal records.

“I finally am feeling like all the hard work that I put in this season is paying off,” Buegri said.

To prepare for the conference meet, Buergi said she will stick to her training plan and remember to have fun.

“I just need to keep doing what I’m doing,” Buegri said.

A time of 5:21.26 minutes earned Taylor Lather (senior) third in the mile.

The Eau Claire women’s efforts totaled to a team score of 154.5 points.

Oshkosh, with 162.5 points, won the men’s meet. Eau Claire came in second with 127 points.

The Blugold men’s strength came out of the starting blocks. A second-year 4×400 team composed of Aaron Zmolek, KJ Munn, Dietrich Schwoerer and Hunter Henk placed first with a time of 3:17.65 minutes.

Schneider said the team did exceptionally well  with this time, they are seated second for the NCAA National meet that will be held in March.

Jordan Lijewski (first-year) found success in the 200-meter dash. Lijewski won the event, sprinting the distance in 22.49 seconds.

Schwoerer, Henk and Lijewski were also successful in the open 400-meter. The Blugolds flew together, placing second, third and fourth with times of 49.94, 50.83 and 50.90, respectively.

Dylan Cooper (second-year) hurdled into third place in the 60-meter hurdles, clocking in at 8.50 seconds. Adam Lembke (first-year) also ran 60 meters, but without the hurdles. Lembke came in third with 7.17 seconds.

Alex Winn (second-year) ran a time of 4:23.59 in the mile. The time placed him in third.

Off the track, Blugold men added a handful of field victories.

TJ Lui (second-year) skipped, hopped and jumped his way to a 45-3.00 triple jump victory. Lembke added a third-place leap in the long jump (21.-0.00).

David Kornack (senior) won the shot put with a throw of 56-4.00.

Looking forward, Schneider said the team is ready for the harder competition to come, specifically, the WIAC meet at UW-Stevens Point, which will take place on Feb. 23 and 24.

 

“We’re definitely hitting our stride,” Schneider said. “We’re ready to compete well.”