SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Yellowjacket men's track and field team is on a quest. The 'Jackets, who are hosting the 2020 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, are looking to win their fourth consecutive indoor title in five attempts since joining the conference in 2015.
 
And after day one of competition, the Yellowjackets find themselves in a familiar position – sitting atop the leaderboard.
 
The Yellowjackets won four events on the opening day of competition, and in the process amassed 101.5 points to take the early lead in the UMAC Championships at Lydia Thering Fieldhouse Friday. The Yellowjackets hold 28.5 point lead over second place St. Scholastica, and lead third place Bethany Lutheran by 51.5 points.
 
In what should surprise no one, CJ Pillath (Coleman, Wis./Coleman) led the way for the Yellowjackets Friday. The senior thrower, who is a lock to compete at the 2020 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships, defending his conference championship in the weight throw with a mark of 19.01 meters. Despite coming up short of the school record he set last weekend (19.17 meters), Pillath set a new conference record with the heave.
 
Staying with the field events, Brett Goplen (Hugo, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran Academy) claimed the conference championship in the high jump, clearing the bar at a height of 1.83 meters.
 
On the track the Yellowjackets claimed victory in a pair of relays.

The team of Michael Knaack (Maple, Wis./Northwestern), Steve Pearson, Lennon Shimon (Albert Lea, Minn./Albert Lea Senior), and Jake Weston (Eveleth, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert Senior) won the 4-x-200-meter relay with a time of 1:33.02. They bettered second-place St. Scholastica by just over two seconds. The Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team of Tyler Finger (Clintonville, Wis./Clintonville), Evan Nelson (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago), Isaiah Arntson (Esko, Minn./Proctor), and Eddie Carlson (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul Secondary) came home with a medal time of 11:06.49. They defeated second-place Minnesota Morris by just over eight seconds.
 
Other notable performances for the Yellowjackets included Carlson's performance in the mile. Carlson crossed the line with a time of 4:26.60, putting him just .4 seconds behind the winner. Derrick Moe (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet) was the runner-up in the mile, coming in with a time of 16:39.27.
 
In addition to his championship in the relay, Weston turned in a strong performance in the 400-meter dash, crossing the line with a time of 52.24 seconds, which was good enough for third place.
 
The Yellowjackets will look to close out their fourth straight conference championship in the second day of competition Saturday. The events get underway at 11:00 a.m.