Anxious for serious competition after two low-key meets to start the season, the men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to WIAC powerhouse UW-La Crosse.
Although neither squad was able to pull off the extremely difficult task of topping La Crosse – the men finished second of four teams and the women placed second of three – several individuals shined on both sides.
For the men, who scored 73 points to finish ahead of St. Thomas (Minn.) and St. Mary’s (Minn.) in the four-team meet, five individuals and the 4×200-meter relay team earned first-place finishes.
Junior David Hanson was the team’s top sprinter, taking first in the 200 dash (23.08 seconds) and third in the 55 dash (6.59).
Junior mid-distance runner Sean Gavigan won the 800 run with a time of one minute, 57 seconds. Senior Rich Maleniak placed first in the 1,500 run in 3:58.17, about two seconds faster than his previous effort.
Junior high jumper Kurt Heilman, who finished fourth at the 2000 WIAC Championships, cleared the mark of 6 feet, 6 inches to claim first place.
Senior Benton Ward tied for first in the pole vault when he cleared 14 feet, 9.5 inches.
In addition, senior triple jumper Jeff Bergstrom and sophomore thrower John Schuna provisionally qualified for nationals.
Bergstrom, a second-team all-conference winner last season, placed third with an effort of 46 feet, 2.75 inches.
Schuna placed third in the shot put with a toss of 52 feet, 11 inches.
Sophomore sprinter Graham Phillips, who took second in the 400 dash, said he was fairly pleased with the team’s showing.
“”We’ve gradually been improving in all aspects,” Phillips said. “We’re just trying to take it a few steps at a time to get where we need to be.”
The women, who finished ahead of St. Mary’s in the three-team meet with 63 points, were led by sophomore Breanna Mc Mullen.
Mc Mullen, the Blugolds’ lone individual winner, took first and achieved provisional qualifying standards in the 55-meter high hurdles (8.66) and triple jump (36-11.25).
The 4×200 relay team took first and provisionally qualified for nationals with a time of 1:49.37.
For the distance runners, freshman Jane-Marie Ovanin placed second in the 5,000 run with a time of 18:10 and sophomore Heather Lipinski finished second in the 3,000 meter with an effort of 11:26.7.
The Blugolds got third place finishes from freshman Kristen Steffen and junior Rebecca Brandner in the 800-meter run and 400-meter run, respectively.
Sophomore Brooke Wozniak took third in the shot put with a throw of 40-8.25, while junior Anna Nelson placed third in the weight throw with a heave of 46-7.25.
Junior sprinter Rheata Bauer said she believes the team performed well considering the difficult training they’ve endured lately.
“Our legs were a little tired,” said Bauer, who finished sixth in the 400 run. “Workouts have been tough up to this point. Once we give ourselves a little bit of a rest, we should start running some pretty fast times.”
