Sunny weather and low winds worked in the Blugolds’ favor this weekend at the first outdoor meet of the season at UW-Oshkosh.

Both the UW-Eau Claire men’s and women’s track and field teams took first place overall of 12 and nine teams, respectively, Saturday at the UW-Oshkosh Outdoor Track & Field Invitational in the J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.

Men
Senior Chris Kupfer said the weather was a nice change from last weekend, when snow and 30 degree weather forced the cancellation of the Viking Olympics in Rock Island, Ill.

Sometimes the switch from indoor competition to outdoor is a difficult transition, but Kupfer said the Blugolds reacted well Saturday, and the weather made perfect timing.

“It was just kind of weird running indoors,” he said. “Track is meant to be run outdoors.”

Because so many of the other teams were making the outdoor transition, Kupfer said the Blugolds had an advantage, especially since Oshkosh and UW-Stevens Point were the only other WIAC teams competing.

Eau Claire took 251.5 points overall for the win, beating UW-Oshkosh’s 244.5 points and third-place finisher Carroll University’s 70.5 points. The Blugolds won seven events and had 24 finishes placing third or better.

Kupfer, junior Justin White, sophomore Jake Zander and senior Rob Wilcox took first place in the 4×400 meter relay with a time of 3 minutes 26 seconds. Junior Tim Braunschweig won the 400 Meter Dash in 49.81 seconds, followed by three other Blugolds: White in second, freshman Pat Mackin in third and sophomore Spencer Lindholm in fourth. Eau Claire also dominated the 3K steeplechase with junior Chris Wirtz taking first with a time of 9:30; junior Max Renner came in second, senior Andy Warren in third, and junior Ben Pearson took fourth place.

Sophomore Logan Koerten won both the javelin throw event, with a distance of 46.87 meters, and the long jump, with a 6.66-meter finish. Senior Sam Johnson won first in the hammer throw with 56.51 meters. Senior Nick Desotelle and sophomore Jae Erickson won first and second place finishes in pole vault.

Freshman Jeremy Kieser said the team’s success was a direct payoff from a strong practice ethic over the winter and encouraging each other during events.

Kieser took ninth place in the 5K with a time of 15:52, beating his personal record by 11 seconds.

“It was the first smart race I ran,” he said. “I took a little more patience in the first mile, and after I heard my time, I relaxed and could steadily drop my pace.”

Kieser said he’s really excited to be in the steeplechase event next weekend, which will be his first time running hurdles in a few years.

Kupfer said the meet was a definite confidence boost heading into Friday’s invitational at UW-Platteville, and now it’s just a matter of slicing down event times.

“We really lucked out with the weather, we ran good times, and I think a lot of people are feeling really good about next week,” he said.

Women
The women’s track and field team also scored a victory Saturday, winning four events and 16 finishes in third place or better.

The team won first place in the meet with 183.5 points overall, beating second place Oshkosh’s 163 points, Winona State University (Minn.) with 138 and Northern Michigan University with 117.5.

Senior Liz Kooistra won the 800-meter run in 2:16, followed in second by sophomore Maria Peloquin in 2:20. Junior Hannah Humbach won the 1500-meter run with a 4:44 finish, followed in second by sophomore Beth Easker with a time of 4:49. Sophomore Liz Amici took first place in the 100-meter hurdles with 15.81 seconds.

Freshman Julia Baranek won the triple jump with 11.01 meters and also took second place in the high jump with 1.57 meters.

“I never thought I could pull off 11 meters in the triple jump,” said Baranek, who had last hit the 11-meter mark in high school. “I was waiting for that to happen.”

Baranek said the team’s overall success was just a product of overwhelming individual victory in various events. She said she’s always amazed that the men and women Blugolds cheer for each other even though they’re part of separate teams. Support from her teammates was especially encouraging, Baranek said.

The weather certainly also helped, as did having more time to practice over spring break without having to worry about competing, and then again after last week’s cancelled event in Illinois, Baranek said.

“I think everyone prepared that week, and we just all put it together and did it,” she said.

The women will also compete at UW-Platteville’s invitational at 3 p.m. Friday.