UW-La Crosse Captures 10th Straight Men’s Indoor Track and Field Title
MENOMONIE, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse captured its 10th straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) men’s indoor track and field title at UW-Stout’s Sports and Fitness Center Feb. 25-26.
The Eagles secured their league-leading 36th championship in program history with 165.50 points to surpass the second-place total of 138 points by UW-Oshkosh. UW-Whitewater finished third with 102.50 points, UW-Eau Claire fourth with 83.50 points, UW-Platteville fifth with 69.50 points, UW-Stevens Point sixth with 63 points, UW-Stout seventh with 46 points, UW-River Falls eighth with 33.50 points and UW-Superior ninth with .50 points.
UW-La Crosse earned four individuals titles and one relay crown at the meet. Zach Lee was victorious in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.40, while Paul Yerhot claimed the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.47. Isaac Vazquez produced a leap of 24-0 1/4 to secure the long jump and Andy Novak won the shot put with a heave of 54-11 1/4.
The quartet of Jacob Peterson, Ryan Mendez, Sean Royer and Brian Shonat claimed the distance medley relay with a time of 10:23.45.
UW-Oshkosh’s Ben Ludtke defended his title in the 35-pound weight throw with a fling of 63-1 3/4, while Quentin Badger won the 200-meter dash with a clocking of 22.32.
The Titans also captured the remaining two relay crowns as Alex DeWitt, Ryan Sprenger, Chris Lipke and John Cejka secured the 4x200-meter relay with a time of 1:29.62. Lipke and Cejka teamed with Corey Wilch and David Edwards to earn the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:20.56.
UW-Whitewater’s Brian Butzler won the 3,000-meter run for the second time in his career with a time of 8:26.96. He also won the event at the 2007 championship.
The Warhawks’ Travis Morehouse produced a first-place height of 6-8 3/4 in the high jump, while Marcus Smith claimed the triple jump with a leap of 48-3 1/4.
UW-Platteville’s Patrick Klein secured the one-mile run for the second straight year with a time of 4:12.04 and Aaron Loferski was victorious in the 55-meter hurdles with a clocking of 7.76.
UW-Stevens Point’s David Litsheim won the 800-meter run for the second consecutive season with a time of 1:52.83, while teammate Brian Thill was triumphant in the pentathlon with 3,592 points.
UW-Stout’s Daniel Drewek claimed the pole vault crown with a height of 16-9 1/4 to win the event for the second time in his career. He also registered a first-place performance in 2009.
UW-Eau Claire’s Tom Brietbach had a first-place time of 14:57.86 in the 5,000-meter run.
UW-Stevens Point’s David Litsheim and UW-Whitewater’s Aron Kehoe were named co-recipients of the Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete Award.
An All-Sportsmanship Team was selected for individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season. It included one member from each school. Named to the squad were: UW-Eau Claire's Andrew Storsveen, UW-La Crosse's Isaac Vazquez, UW-Oshkosh's David Edwards, UW-Platteville's Brandon Harms, UW-River Falls' Lucas Mueller, UW-Stevens Point's Kris Riggs, UW-Stout's Vince Tuminello, UW-Superior's Kevin Olsen and UW-Whitewater's Dave Kuczynski.
Individual Champions
55-Meter Dash: Zach Lee (UW-La Crosse) 6.40
200-Meter Dash: Quentin Badger (UW-Oshkosh), 22.32
400-Meter Dash: Paul Yerhot (UW-La Crosse), 49.47
800-Meter Run: David Litsheim (UW-Stevens Point), 1:52.83
One-Mile Run: Patrick Klein (UW-Platteville), 4:12.04
3,000-Meter Run: Brian Butzler (UW-Whitewater), 8:26.96
5,000-Meter Run: Tom Breitbach (UW-Eau Claire), 14:57.86
55-Meter Hurdles: Aaron Loferski (UW-Platteville), 7.76
High Jump: Travis Morehouse (UW-Whitewater), 6-8 3/4 (2.05m)
Long Jump: Isaac Vazquez (UW-La Crosse), 24-0 1/4 (7.32m)
Triple Jump: Marcus Smith (UW-Whitewater), 48-3 1/4 (14.71m)
Pole Vault: Daniel Drewek (UW-Stout), 16-9 1/4 (5.11m)
Shot Put: Andy Novak (UW-La Crosse), 54-11 1/4 (16.74m)
35-Pound Weight Throw: Ben Ludtke (UW-Oshkosh), 63-1 1/4 (19.23m)
Pentathlon: Brian Thill (UW-Stevens Point), 3592 points
Relay Champions
4x200-Meter Relay: UW-Oshkosh (Alex DeWitt, Ryan Sprenger, Chris Lipke, John Cejka), 1:29.62
4x400-Meter Relay: UW-Oshkosh (Chris Lipke, Corey Wilch, David Edwards, John Cejka), 3:20.56
Distance Medley Relay: UW-La Crosse (Jacob Peterson, Ryan Mendez, Sean Royer, Brian Shonat), 10:23.45
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