WINONA, Minn. – In the middle of last week, Superior enjoyed a pair of rare mid-April days where the temperature was more than 75 degrees. Because of the warmth, the excessive snow that remained from a long winter began to subside rapidly, and as a result, the Yellowjacket track and field team was able to go through their practice routines outdoors.
 
It wasn't quite that nice Saturday in Winona, but it was dry with a little sun, and the Yellowjackets made the most of it, putting in a strong showing at the Saint Mary's Invitational in Winona.
 
Garrett Lynch (Portage, Wis./Portage) turned in another stellar day for the Yellowjackets, bringing home a pair of first-place finishes. Lynch won the 110-meter hurdles, coming in with a time of 15.80 seconds. He also placed first in the pole vault, clearing the bar at a height of 4.00 meters. In the long jump, Lynch finished eighth with a mark of 5.75 meters. And competing in the javelin, Lynch set a new personal record with a mark of 35.89 meters.
 
Michael Butterfield (Bovey, Minn./Greenway) also earned a win Saturday, taking first place in the 5,000 meters with a time of 16:23.92. he also placed 10th in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:20.92. In the 5,000, Butterfield took the lead with about a mile to go in the event, and held off a furious charge from multiple competitors to secure the win.
 
In the sprints, Will Schorr (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) had a good showing in multiple events. He placed fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.29. Schorr also placed seventh in the 200-meter dash, coming in with a personal record time of 22.70 seconds. For good measure, Schorr also had a high finish in the long jump, placing fourth with a mark of 6.22 meters. Fellow sprinter Ethan Westimayer (Laona, Wis./Laona) had a pair of sixth place finishes, in the 200-meter dash (22.55 seconds) and the 400-meter dash (51.28 seconds). The latter set a new personal record.
 
Junior Earl Foster (Forest Lake, Minn./Spectrum) had big finishes in both track and field events. In the 110-meter hurdles, Foster set a new personal record with a time of 15.99 seconds, placing him third. Foster placed fourth in the javelin with a heave of 42.31 meters. He was also fourth in the long jump with a mark of 1.70 meters.
 
Senior thrower Nate Ohman (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern) had three top-ten finishes on the day. Ohman finished eighth in the discus with a throw of 37.75 meters. He was seventh in the hammer throw with a heave of 43.46 meters. Ohman's best finish of the day came in the shot put, where he placed third with a mark of 13.63 meters.
 
Other top-ten finishes for the Yellowjackets came from Kieran Johnson (South Range, Wis./Northwestern) (3,000-meter steeplechase – fifth), Steven Pearson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) (triple jump – sixth), Kei Okamoto (Nagoya, Japan/Reitaku Mizunami) (5,000 meters – sixth) and Iain Matheson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior), who placed fifth in the 400-meter dash and ninth in the 200-meter dash.
 
The Yellowjacket 4-x-400-meter relay team of Lynch, Ethan Bowe (Chetek, Wis./Chetek-Weyerhaeuser), Ethan Defoe and Garrett Kroells (Green Isle, Minn./Sibley East) placed fifth Saturday, coming in with a time of 3:36.60.
 
In total, the Yellowjacket men established 13 new personal records at Saint Mary's Saturday.

Next up for the Yellowjackets is the Phil Esten Challenge, hosted by UW-La Crosse, April 21-22.