By Kyle Weaver
March 2, 2016
The No. 3-ranked UW-Whitewater men’s track team overcame a slow start to tie for third place in the WIAC Indoor Championships on Feb. 26 and 27.
The women’s team took seventh out of eight teams with a total score of 50.50. No. 5-ranked UW-La Crosse won its fourth- straight conference title with a score of 166.50.
The men’s team tallied 19 points after the first day, which was good for sixth place. But a strong second day helped the ’Hawks finish with a total of 80.50 points, tied with No.1-ranked UW-Eau Claire. Second-place UW-Stevens Point totaled 98 points. No. 2-ranked UW-La Crosse won their 15th straight conference championship and 41st in their program’s history with a score of 166.50.
“I think we left a lot of points out there on Friday,” senior CJ Klingbeil said. “Third is very respectable, especially going off where we were at on day one. I think we finished well.”
Sophomores Parker Witt and Robert Starnes earned the ‘Hawks two individual conference championships in the 200-meter dash and the high jump, respectively. Witt also earned All-WIAC honors in the 60-meter dash, posting a career best time of 6.84 seconds, which was good for third place.
A number of Warhawks came up just short of earning conference championships. Senior Zach Stockhiemer earned a runner-up finish in the weight throw with a personal record toss of 18.28m. Conference champion Starnes had several teammates finish behind him in the high jump. Sophomore Cameron MaGee, freshman Dylan Ferger and sophomore Chandler Leonard took third, fourth and eighth, respectively.
Sophomore Noah Stamsta took third place in the 5K with a time of 14:55.73.
Klingbeil finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.43 seconds.
“I was happy with where I finished,” Klingbeil said. “I have improved from last year and fifth is right where I was expected to finish.”
On the women’s side, the team was in seventh place after the first day of competition. They were unable to make up ground on Saturday.
“Our goal was to just stay positive on Saturday and not let any of the negative from Friday carry over,” senior sprinter Candice Wayne said. “There were a lot of PR’s [personal records] on both days, which motivated the rest of the team to do well.”
Junior Amanda Strupp earned All-WIAC honors and second place in the weight throw with a toss of 17.35m.
Wayne, along with sophomore Morgan McCuen, and juniors Meredith Heller and Leah Richter, combined to set a school record and earn all-conference honors in the 4×400-meter relay. The team posted a time of 3:54.95, which was good for third place overall.
“To be able to run that fast of a time is amazing,” Wayne said. “All I remember was standing behind the finish line with the rest of my team, switching between cheering for Leah [Richter] to finish and looking at the clock, and all of us giving her the biggest hug after.”
Senior Amy Kahl notched a fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:22.02. Freshman Brianna Frey and senior Tyler Henderson placed fifth in the 60-meter dash and long jump, respectively.
“I didn’t think about it a whole lot until we had our meeting at the end,” said Klingbeil. “It’s sad obviously, but I didn’t think of it as my last meet I just wanted to bring home some points for the team.”
Wayne and Klingbeil reflected on the participating in the conference meet for the last time.
“One of my fellow seniors [Sarah Kasiurak] and I just kept saying senior year, this is it, and that we were not allowed to give up at anytime during our races,” Wayne said.
The NCAA Division-III Indoor Championships are held on March 11 and 12 and both teams will try to post qualifying results at a pair on meets next weekend.
The UW-Platteville “Last Chance” Meet is March 4, and The Pointer Final is March 5 in Stevens Point.
