The UW men’s and women’s track and field teams combined to win 14 events and set two NCAA provisional qualifying marks this weekend at their own Wisconsin Elite Invitational. The Badgers competed against teams from the University of Arizona, Marquette University and Indiana State University.
One highlight of the meet was the record-setting performances of UW’s men’s pentathlon team. The event was won by freshman Nathan Brown, whose total score of 3,951 points shattered the previous school record of 3,689 points, which was set by Benny Gill in 2000. Brown’s teammates Ryan Tremelling and Ashraf Fadel placed second and third respectively, while also eclipsing the previous school record. Ben Roland fell five points short of breaking the school mark, but his outstanding performance made it a 1-2-3-4 finish in the pentathlon.
“Nathan put up an exceptional mark,” head coach Ed Nuttycombe said. “All of them had a good meet. That was just a great start for their season. I am really proud of all four of them.”
Another event the Badgers dominated was the mile run. Junior standout Matt Tegenkamp took first place in the event with a time of 4:10.86. UW milers Bobby Lockhart, Ben Gregory and Simon Bairu finished second, third and fourth, respectively. Overall, the Badgers had six runners finish in the top seven positions for the event.
“I just felt comfortable in the pack and moved up,” Tegenkamp said of his performance. “All the Wisconsin guys ran well today and did awesome.”
Coach Nuttycombe added, “Matt is one of our distance runners that is a stable mainstay of the team. His time today was a pleasant surprise and a very solid mark.”
UW was also able to tally a victory in the 4×400 meter relay. The victorious team consisted of Ryan Ridge, Dan Murray, Dustin Rabine and Jvontai Hanserd. In addition to winning the relay, all four members also had busy days competing their own individual events. Hanserd won the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.93 seconds, Murray captured first place in the 800-meter run, with Ridge coming in seventh, and Rabine took second in the 600-meter run.
Turning in another notable performance was Jon Mungen, who won the 60-meter hurdles with a NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 7.86 seconds. In the field, Steve Jones won the men’s high jump, clearing the bar at 6’10,” and Rob Salamo placed second in the shot put.
Not unlike the men’s team, the women’s team also found success throughout the day.
Long-distance runner Hilary Edmondson won the mile run in 4:46.35; her time was good enough to be a NCAA provisional qualifying mark.
Teammates Bethany Brewster, Linsey Blaisdell and Sarah Levinson placed third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the event for the Badgers. Blaisdell was also able to capture third in the 800-meter run. In the 600-meter run, Tara Halls won with a time of 1:36.02.
In the field events, Bree Fuqua led the Badgers with her first place finish in the shot put with a throw of 49’1” and her fourth place finish in the weight throw. Teammate Courtney Bauer took second in the shot put.
Keeping up the strong showing in field events, Yael Peled took first place in the long jump with a leap of 18’6,” and Tara Clack won the pole vault by clearing the bar at 12’4.” Overall, the women’s head coach, Peter Tegen, was pleased with the day’s efforts.
“For the second meet of the season, we saw the things we usually see in the earlier meets,” Tegen said. “There are things we need to work on, but there were definitely a lot of positives for us today.”
