Two of UW-Whitewater’s most decorated track and field stars competed with hopes of earning a spot at the Olympic trials this summer. Shelvin Garrett II made it to the trials in the triple jump event and Christian Patzka fell less than two seconds short of qualifying for the Olympic trials in the 3000-meter steeplechase.
Both Garrett II and Patzka expressed the magnitude of having the opportunity to compete with the best of the best.
Shelvin Garrett III
According to Garrett II, it was a surreal experience.
“It kind of felt like a dream, there were so many people, you don’t really see that many track stadiums especially in America – like [stadiums] that big and focused on track,” he said.
Garrett expected to be there, he said, early in the track season last year he had visions of himself competing in the Olympic trials and even added it to his “goal board.”
While performing to the best of his abilities was Garrett II’s main goal for the competition, he also made a conscious effort to, “soak it in” and learn as much as he could.
“The main thing I noticed was – the pro guys and the really good dudes – their technique was absurd and really efficient,” he said. “I was like ‘oh wow, I have a lot to fix’ … but I actually enjoyed being humbled.”
He was so inspired, Garrett II said, that after one day of competing he was out in the dark hotel parking lot practicing different techniques and skills he observed from the experienced athletes.
While Garrett II is unable to compete for the UW-Whitewater track and field team this spring due to student teaching obligations, he is still acting as a leader for his teammates. He said while he was at the event he consistently messaged his Warhawk teammates to share warm-ups, techniques and other information that he said could be hard to come by without seeing those athletes at the highest level.
Although Garrett II will not be an official member of the Warhawks come track season, he plans to compete at an individual capacity, with the goal of competing at the USA Championships this summer.
“I am still going at it and still chasing my dream,” he said. “The big goal is to get back to the Olympic trials and hopefully a bigger stage in 2028.”
Christian Patzka
Patzka, who currently holds back-to-back titles for steeplechase at the Division III NCAA Championships, traveled to Portland shortly after the season for a shot at qualifying for the Olympic trials. He said he competed against the best Division I and professional athletes in the country.
“It’s pretty rare to be a D-III guy out there running against that kind of competition, like the best in the country – outside of college as well … It was a really great experience running against that kind of competition and running against those guys, kind of seeing where I could be next year as well,” Patzka said.
The Olympic trials take 30 athletes for the steeplechase event with an automatic qualifying time of 8 minutes and 30 seconds, but extra qualifiers are taken based on best time as well.
In an impressive effort Patzka posted a 8:31.89 and was the fourth cut from qualifying for the Olympic trials by a slim 1.3-second margin.
While Patzka was disappointed, he said, he gained a lot from the experience and is now focusing his energy towards his last cross country season with the Warhawks this fall.
In the spring, Patzka added, is when the competition ramps up for him. Similar to Garrett II, Patzka has his sights set on qualifying for the USA Championships.
Patzka will also be taking on student teaching responsibilities in the fall of 2025, but has additional plans.
His main goal for his final year of collegiate competition is to perform at a high level in his final year and compete for a professional team or an alternative option starting in the summer of 2025.
“That’s sort of my main goal after track season is to use this summer and use USA championships as a springboard into that other echelon of running,” Patzka said.
