2023 WIAC Track & Field Championships Website

Whitewater, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's track and field team captured the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship (presented by Culver's) Saturday night at UW-Whitewater's Rex Foster Track Complex. The Eagles, winners of their 57th conference title in school history, took the league title with 245.0 points. UW-Oshkosh was second with 150.0 points and UW-Whitewater third with 124.0.

UW-Eau Claire was fourth (88.5) followed by UW-Stout (78.0), UW-Platteville (56.0), UW-Stevens Point (45.5) and UW-River Falls (32.0). 

The Eagles have now won 31 of the past 32 WIAC Championships. UWL (1916-18, 1954, 1956-58, 1962, 1969-72, 1974-76, 1978-89, 1991-2019, 2021, 2023) has won a league record 57 titles. 

UWL won six events on Saturday, including Nathan Andringa taking the high jump (6-8 3/4). 

Luke Schroeder won the 400-meter hurdles (52.34) on Saturday while Chase Doornink took the 400-meter dash (47.30) and Cael Schoemann the 800-meter run (1:51.25). Schroeder is the first UWL runner to win the 400-meter hurdles since Charlie Handrick in 2019. Doornink joins Jake Sullivan (2021) to captured the 400-meter dash in the last three seasons for UWL while Schoemann is the first student-athlete since Samuel Hinz in 2018 to win the 800-meter run. 

The Eagles swept the relays with Paul Lough, Carter Kummet, Spencer Reichart and Schroeder winning the 4x100-meter relay (41.14) and Jacob Hohman, Addison Hill, Caden Pearce and Doornink taking the 4x400-meter relay (3:12.29). 

It is UWL's second 4x100-meter relay title in the last three years after Seth Holden, Justin Kotarak, Reichart and Tyler Harris won in 2021. The Eagles won the 4x400-meter relay for the first since 2012 with Saturday's win. UWL set a WIAC record in winning Saturday's 4x400-meter relay, breaking the previous time of 3:12.48 set by UWL's Nick Tehan, Tyson Young, Christian Wendland and Aric Hoeschen in 2012. 

Other top-six finishes in the field events included Chase Roehl fourth (47-2 1/2), Nick Crary fifth (47-1) and William Cady sixth (46-11 1/2) in the triple jump while Ethan Welch was fourth (49-2 1/4) and Kyle Peters fifth (48-11 3/4) in the shot put. 

On the track, Reichart was second (10.60) in the 100-meter dash while Luke Vance was fifth (22.20) in the 200-meter dash. Along with Doornink's title in the 400-meter dash, Pearce placed second (47.53), Hill fourth (48.01) and Tyler Backes fifth (48.42). 

Dirk Lueck was third (53.63), Bryant Yanke fourth (54.70) and Payton Flood sixth (55.29) in the 400-meter hurdles, joining Schroeder in the top-six. 

Michael Madoch recorded a pair of fifth-place finishes on Saturday in the 800 (1:53.20) and 1,500-meter runs (3:59.78). Jayden Zywicki was fourth (3:59.57) in the 1,500-meter un. In the 5,000-meter run, the Eagles' Aidan Matthai was third (14:47.05), Adam Loenser fourth (14:48.16) and Corey Fairchild fifth (14:52.62). 

UWL's Joseph Jensen placed ninth (5,886 points) in Saturday's decathlon. The event concluded Saturday with the 110-meter hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and 1,500-meter run and competitors saw action in the 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400-meter dash on Friday.

UWL returns to action Friday, May 12 hosting the Eagle Open at 3 p.m.