Men's Track and Field Finishes Second at Phil Esten Challenge; Competes At Azusa Pacific And Florida University

La Crosse, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Men's Track and Field team was busy the past three days as members of the Eagles competed at the Phil Esten Challenge, Bryan Clay Invitational and Tom Jones Memorial Invitational Wednesday through Saturday.

THE BASICS

Phil Esten Challenge (hosted by UW-La Crosse) - UW-Eau Claire won the team title as they finished with 217 points. UW-La Crosse was second with 163 points while UW-Stevens Point (121) was third, UW-Stout (108.5) fourth and Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) (49.5) fifth.
Location: Veterans Memorial Stadium, La Crosse, Wis.
Bryan Clay Invitational Results (No Team Scores)
Location: Cougar Athletic Stadium, Azusa, Calif. (Azusa Pacific University)
Tom Jones Memorial Invitational Results (No Team Scores)
Location: James G. Pressly Stadium Pearcy Beard Track (University of Florida)
Up next: Members of the Eagles will compete at the Gary Wilson Invitional hosted by the University of Minnesota on Wednesday, April 23.

THE RESULTS

FIELD EVENTS

High Jump - Mitchell Eldredge finished third in the high jump with a mark of 6-1 1/4.
Pole Vault - Four of the top seven finishers in the pole vault were in UWL uniforms on Friday. Connor Boyle won the event with a top mark of 15-11 3/4 while Andrew Tumminaro was second (15-5 3/4). In fifth place was Alexander Wagner (15-0) and seventh place Caleb Moore (15-0).
Long Jump - Gavin Sargeant was the top Eagle finisher in long jump with a mark of 22-8 to finish fifth.
Shot Put - Two of the top six finishers in the shot put were Eagles with Spencer Prats finishing fourth (53-5) and Jake Gardner sixth (50-10).
Javelin - Nate Lawrence (174-10) finished second and Anthony Staryszak (154-6) fifth to both score for the Eagles in the javelin.
Discus - Staryszak's top throw of 160-4 helped him finish second in the discus.

TRACK EVENTS

110-meter hurdles - Lukas Johnson finished eighth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 24.94.
100-meter dash - UWL had the top two finishers in 100-meter dash as Lyndon Hemmrich-Hartman (10.63) won the event while Evan Maurud was second (10.67). At the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational (hosted by University of Florida), Sam Blaskowski tied his own National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III record with a time of 10.09 to finish seventh overall.
1500 meter- Nash Merklein finished fifth in the 1500-meter run with a time of 3:52.80.
400-meter - Devin Williams won the 400-meter run for the Eagles with a time of 49.13 while Ethan Dugan finished fourth in a time of 50.06.
400-meter hurdles - Two of the top three finishers in the 400-meter hurdles were Eagles as Ayden Hart won the race in a time of 54.25. Zachary Nyquist finished third in a time of 55.78.
800-meter - With a time of 1:55.76, Owen Klaus won the 800-meter run while Jayden Sayles was second (1:55.84).
200-meter - Blaskowski ran a school record 20.33 in the 200-meter run to finish fourth at the Tom Jones Invitational hosted by the University of Florida. Blaskowski breaks his own record of 20.55 which he did during the 2024 outdoor season.
3000-meter Steeplechase - Multiple members of the Eagles competed in the 3000-meter Steeplechase at the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific University (Calif.). Joey Sullivan was the top Eagle finisher as he finished 17th with a time of 8:49.74. At the Phil Esten Challenge, Charles Vater finished fifth (9:13..67) and Mason Brown sixth (9:14.04) to lead the Eagles.
10000-meter - Grant Matthai and Aidan Matthai both competed in the 10000-meter at the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific University (Calif.). Grant Matthai finished fourth with a time of 28:53.93 while Aidan Matthai was seventh in time of 29:01.80.
4x100 relay - The relay team of Ryder Smith, Luke Vance, Maurud and Collin Conzemius won the 4x100 relay with a time of 40.99.
Decathlon - Joseph Jensen was the top Eagle finisher in the decathlon as he finished fourth with 5,986 points.