UW junior Matt Tegenkamp was named the Big Ten Conference Men’s Outdoor Track and Field co-athlete of the week Monday, sharing the honor with University of Indiana’s Sean Jefferson.

At the Mt. SAC Relays last Saturday, Tegenkamp broke a nearly 20-year-old university record in the 5,000 meters. He broke the UW record by more than six seconds to finish 10th overall with an NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 13:30.90.

Before Tegenkamp’s historic run, the previous mark for a student at Wisconsin was 13:37.2. Badger track and field legend John Easker set that mark in 1985.

Tegenkamp was the third collegian to cross the finish line in an invitational field that featured some of the nation’s best and most distinguished middle-distance runners.

Jonathon Riley, sponsored in the competition by Nike, won the race in 13:21.11, while Arizona’s Robert Cheseret finished with the top collegiate and second overall mark, crossing the line in 13:22.65.

Tegenkamp has set three UW records so far in an impressive junior campaign. During the 2004 indoor season, he established new school marks in the 3,000 meters with a time of 7:55.14 and in the 5,000 meters with a time of 13:44.06.

Tegenkamp is a five-time All-American for the Badgers and was UW’s highest scorer at the 2004 NCAA Indoor Championships. The junior out of Lee’s Summit, Mo., shattered the Big Ten Conference and University of Wisconsin school records in the 5,000 meters to finish fifth. He crossed in 13:44.06, breaking the UW mark by over six seconds.

Former Badger runner Jason Casiano set the previous UW mark of 13:50.08 in 1996. Tegenkamp also bested the Big Ten mark of 13:48.47, set by Michigan’s John Mortimer in 1998.

Rounding out Tegenkamp’s remarkable performance at the event, the talented junior also finished third in a tactical 3,000-meter race in 8:02.82.

— compiled from staff reports