April 15, 2015 By Evan Carlin
The No. 5-ranked UW-Whitewater men’s and the No. 2 women’s track and field continued its season with outdoor competition April 11 in the UW-Platteville Invitational.
Jared Denu kick started the Warhawks with a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter dash with the team’s fastest time of 49.27 seconds.
Senior captain Dawson Miller led all distance runners in the 1500-meter dash with a time of 3:52.95, just finishing a second over his personal best.
Freshman Mike Cournia won the triple jump with a leap of 49-07.25, the best distance on the team this season.
UW-Whitewater went on to place in nine spots in the three main jumping events.
Freshman Theron Baumann led the throwers, finishing fourth in the discus with a score of 158-11 and sixth in the shotput with a 52-04.75; both recorded scores lead the team this season.
Grant Loess, Robert Starnes, Connor Larson and Parker Witt combined efforts to place second in the 4×100 meter relay with a time of 42.87. Kyle Martinelli, Denu, Cody Speaker and Tony Urbanski teamed up for the 4×400 meter relay where they placed fifth.
“This season has been very similar to other seasons for me personally, and as a team,” Miller said. “We have been ranked in the top five for the majority of my college career, and the team keeps getting better as the year progresses, besides some injuries the team has faced.”
The men’s track and field looks to continue its running ways with the season that remains.
“I am setting personal bests at the same meets and have been an All-American at every national event I’ve competed in,” Miller said. “The rest of the season will be very difficult, as it always is, because our conference is the best conference in the nation. I want the team to finish in the top three at conference, the top four at nationals, and for me personally to win the steeplechase at nationals.”
The women’s track and field also proved themselves in the Invitational. The Warhawks placed three of four in the 400-meter hurdles.
Candice Wayne, Enyo Amet, Meredith Heller and captain Amanda Brom were third in the 4×400-meter relay finishing in 3:58.75. Kaylee Raucci, Aisha Coleman, Chelsie Bence and Amet joined for a time of 50.62 in the 4×100-meter relay, placing them eighth for the event.
Brom credits her mental toughness and the team’s togetherness to her success this season.
“My biggest success this season has been learning how to deal with other factors mentally,” Brom said. “This season hasn’t been going my way, but it’s just a learning experience for later in the season. As a team I feel we have improved with support for each other. This season, people have reached out of their event groups and helped support the team.”
With the help of her teammates and coaches, Brom seeks to finish the season strong.
“I want to have a personal best this year and place well at conference,” Brom said.
The season that follows will be no easy feat for the Warhawks.
“The rest of the season will be the hardest part, we have conference coming up in May,” Brom said.
The women’s track and field return to outdoor competition Friday at the Augustana (Ill.) Invitational. The events are set to begin at 3 p.m.
The men’s track and field will resume Saturday at the Meet of Champions and Multi-Event in Augustana. The events are set to begin at 10 a.m.
