UW-Eau Claire men’s and women’s indoor track and field competed at the Indoor Eagle Open on Friday, Feb. 20, where several Blugolds placed first in the finals. The Blugold men’s team placed first in four events.
Individually, first place was earned by Blake Postler for 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.03 seconds, Jack Hesse-Withbroe in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:40.18 and Gage Stankiewicz with a shot put distance of 18.81 meters.
The other first-place finish was for the 4×400 meter relay team with a time of 3:14.31, consisting of Nick Odom, Cameron Pease, Postler and Riley Templeton.
Postler is a second-year social work student who said he feels relieved after Friday’s competition and glad to have a strong group this year.
Chip Schneider is the head coach for the Blugolds’ men’s and women’s indoor track and field with a focus on hurdles and he said he has been working closely with Postler.
“Working with Coach Schneider is really nice,” Postler said. “He’s really knowledgeable, but he’s also open to alternative ways of doing things, so he helps me fix the things that I can work on.”
Several other male athletes placed in the top five of the previously mentioned events, along with the 200-meter run, high jump and weight throw.
For the women’s team, their athletes placed first in five events.
Individual wins came from Allyson Kakes in the 200-meter run with a time of 25.11 seconds, Hope Schueller in the 60-meter run with a time of 7.73 seconds (whom Kakes followed closely behind in third with a time of 7.77 seconds), Anna Thaler in the long jump with a distance of 5.59 meters and Kayla Behnke in the weight throw with a distance of 19.16 meters (having also placed second in shot put).
Schueller is a third-year nursing student who said she achieved her personal best and had fun at the recent competition.
“I love competing,” Schueller said. “I really try to not get nervous; I don’t normally.”
On Friday, it came down to a difference of 0.03 seconds between Schueller and second-place finisher Kelly Huerta of the UW-Whitewater team. When racing neck-and-neck like that, Schueller said she doesn’t think about it.
“It’s just such a short race,” Schueller said. “If you’re thinking during it, you’re probably not doing that great.”
Schueller said her goal is to lower her time even further so she can qualify for nationals. She said she currently ranks 36th in the nation and may be able to qualify if she drops at least 0.05 seconds from her time.
The Blugolds were also successful in the 4×400 meter relay, where athletes Mya Cinnamo, Lauren Dimler, Kylee Grabarski and McKenzie Kruse ran with a time of 3:51.18.
The other events where the women’s team earned top 10 finishes were the 400-meter run, triple jump and shot put.
Both teams will compete next weekend at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships on Feb. 27, and after the UW-La Crosse Last Chance meet on March 7, they will go on to the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Schueller said she is excited to face the fierce competition next week, hoping it will push her to be even faster.
“We’re right at our peak this season, just about, so all of us are feeling pretty good,” Postler said. “I’d like to think that we can compete with any school in the conference for first place at WIAC.”
Curtin can be reached at [email protected].
