Feb. 25, 2015 By Alex Calles

The Warhawk track and field team competed in the Big Dawg Invitational which was held by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The men’s track and field finished fourth out of 15 while the women’s track and field finished fourth out of seven.

Mike Judd, who competes in the 60-meter hurdles, ended in first place and broke his personal best of 8.22 seconds. That previous best had him ranked No.11 in Division III.

Judd said he has high expectations for himself this season.

“Run faster and become and All-American which is top eight,” Judd said. “Just to win. There is plenty of competition out there. So winning is the main goal.”

During the men’s 4 x 200 relay, the ‘Hawks placed first with the help from runners: Zach Debuhr, Connor Larson, Grant Loess and Bryce Rudebeck with a time of 1:31:00.

Cody Speaker, who competes in the pole vault, took first place with a height of 14-11.50.

Also placing in the pole vault was Aron Schwartz, who came in third with a height of 14-5.5.

Speaker and Schwartz, added 16 points to the men’s 89.5 score total.

When coach Mike Johnson was asked what the main objective going into this invitational was he said, “Our primary goal is to get as many people qualified for the WIAC Championships. For those who are already qualified, our goal to keep fine-tuning them so they are ready to go next weekend.”

Shelby Mahr led the women’s track and field team in points with winning the shot put competition. Mahr launched the shot put 48.125, while the next best throw was from Kadie Flynn from UW-Stevens Point with a throw of 41.725.

“It’s always nice to have a good meet before going into conference because it’s a confidence booster, but I know that the competitive atmosphere at conference sets many people of for big marks,” said when asked if her dominating performance will give her momentum going into the WIAC Championship.

With the fourth-place finish, Mara Wiebke put her footprint on the scoring for Whitewater.

Finishing second in the 5,000 meters with a time of 19:42:98, Wiebke added eight points to Whitewater’s score total of 71.5.

“I try to offer any words of advice that are needed, but I am generally hands off,” Johnson said. “The preparation work comes during the week at practices.”

The women’s 4 x 200 relay finished in second with help from the legs of Carly Fehler, Lindsey Laufenberg, Kelsey Worachek and, Kayala Kelsey with a time of 1:45:95. That second place finish gave the women eight points.

Long jumpers Nicole McCue and Carly Manning added to the Whitewater point total with McCue’s fourth place finish which added five points and Manning’s eighth place finish that added a point.

“Our goal is to perform well at the WIAC Championships and qualify as many athletes as possible for the NCAA Championships,” Johnson said.

Lacy Beck, a senior and team captain said, “This is the best team we’ve had going into conference championships that I’ve been a part of,” and that the team is “right on track and didn’t peak too early.”

The WIAC Indoor Championship begin Feb. 27 and ends Feb. 28 in Platteville, Wisconsin for both the men’s and women’s track and field teams.