The Wisconsin men”s track team wrapped up a successful weekend of competition at the Mt. SAC Relays Sunday, earning five NCAA Regional qualifying times on the meet”s final day.
In the 1500 meters, junior Josh Spiker and freshman Chris Solinsky took home sixth and seventh place, respectively, as Spiker finished in 3:41.99 and Solinsky crossed the finish line in a time of 3:42.56.
Sophomore Simon Bairu”s time of 3:48.56 earned him 36th place, while junior Tim Keller came in 53rd. Keller recorded a best of 3:50.43.
Dan Murray picked up a qualifying time in the 800 meters by registering his best time of the season at 1:49.02. The junior took fourth place in the Olympic development race.
Freshman Demi Omole ran a pair of personal bests to earn regional qualifying times. The top collegiate finisher in the 100 meters, Omole recorded a time of 10.35. The race”s winner was Brazilian Andre Silva, who had a winning time of 10.0.
Omole continued his strong effort in the 200 meters, where he finished in ninth place with a time of 21.01.
He is now fifth in the 100 meters on the UW all-time list, and eighth in the 200 meters.
Wisconsin also picked up a regional qualifying mark in the 4×400-meter relay. The Badgers combined to finish fifth overall in 3:10.71.
In other races involving Badgers, sophomore Joe Detmer finished 21st in the 400-meter hurdles in 52.41. In the 110-meter high hurdles, senior Jon Mungen finished 13th in 14.55 while sophomore Paul Check was 19th in 14.81.
Junior Matt Tegenkamp set a UW record to lead the teams Saturday. Tegenkamp recorded a time of 13:30.90 in the 5000 meters to break the school record by more than six seconds. John Easker previously held the mark with a time of 13:37.2 in 1985. Tegenkamp finished the race in 10th place, the third collegiate runner to cross the finish line in a star-studded invitational field. The winner was Nike”s Jonathon Riley (13:21.11). The top NCAA finisher was Robert Cheseret of Arizona, who took second place at 13:22.65.
Sophomore Bobby Lockhart also found success on the weekend. Lockhart took 13th in the 10,000 meters and recorded a NCAA provisional qualifying time at 29:11.61. He is the fourth UW runner to qualify for the NCAA outdoor championships in the 10,000 meters.
In the university/open division of the 5000 meters, Badger senior Joe Eckerly took home 11th place (14:24.93). Junior Dustin Rabine finished the 800 meters with a time of 1:53.70, good for 38th place.
Freshman Joe Thomas led Wisconsin in the field events by placing 10th in the discus. Thomas recorded a personal-best distance of 160-7. Redshirt freshman Mike Sracic took 13th at 155-2, while sophomore Brandon Houle”s score of 152-1 earned him 15th place.
For the UW women, sophomore Melissa Talbot finished second in the university/open long jump at 19-4. Teammate Christina Taylor was third at 19-2 3/4 while sophomore Erica Schoeller was fifth at 18-10 1/2.
Senior Angie Kolanko and sophomore Danielle Ohmen tied for third in the women”s high jump at 5-6.
On the track, Michelle Lilienthal and Leslie Patterson finished 34th and 42nd, respectively, in the 5000 meters. Lilienthal crossed in 17:07.88 while Patterson finished in 17:22.21. Junior Katie Kolpin was 37th in the 800 meters in 2:14.02 while in the 1500 meters, Linsey Blaisdell finished 73rd in 4:38.04 and “A Havahla Haynes was 74th in 4:38.29.
Prior to the Mt. SAC Relays, the Badgers claimed three events at the Cal State Los Angeles Twilight Thursday. Sophomore Paul Check took the 110-meter high hurdles by tallying a season-best time of 14.50 seconds, while his teammate Jon Mungen was right on his heels with a 14.51 second-place finish.
Also taking first place was Omole in the 100-meter dash, at 10.70 seconds. Omole also took second in the 200 meters.
Scott Hogseth claimed second place in the 400 meters, behind former Badger standout Jabari Pride. Thomas took third in the shot put at 55-10.