LA CROSSE, Wis. – Friday, two Yellowjacket men's track and field athletes opened competition at the prestigious Phil Esten Challenge, hosted by UW-La Crosse.

The two-day event opened Friday, with a loaded field for both the men's and women's multi events – the men competing in the decathlon and the women in the heptathlon. And it was a good opening day for the Yellowjackets.
 
Despite the cold and windy conditions, Yellowjackets Garrett Lynch (Portage, Wis./Portage) and Earl Foster (Forest Lake, Minn./Spectrum) turned in strong performances, putting them well ahead of last year's totals heading into day two Saturday.

Lynch sits in seventh place through five events, having accumulated 3,228 points, putting him 462 points off the lead, but just 16 points shy of a spot in the top five. Foster, meanwhile, sits in 17th place with 2,782 points. Lynch and Foster are the only two competitors in the decathlon from outside the WIAC.
 
In the 100-meter dash, Lynch placed sixth with a time of 11.32 second. From there it was onto the long jump, where Lynch had his lowest finish of the day, placing 14th with a leap of 5.97 meters. He moved right back into the top ten, however, with a seventh-place finish in the shot put, placing a heave of 10.54 meters. The final field event of the day was the high jump, and Lynch ended up sixth in the event, clearing the bar at a height of 1.82 meters. Lynch finished his day with an eighth-place finish in the 400-meter run with a time of 52.68 seconds.
 
With five events to go, Lynch is just 1,323 points shy of tying his personal record in the event.
 
Foster brought home a time of 12.02 seconds in the 100-meter dash, placing him 21st. He jumped up a slot in the standings following the long jump, where he reached a mark of 5.96 meters. In the shot put, Foster had a heave of 8.54 meters, good for 21st place. Foster earned his highest finish of the day in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.70 meters. In the final event of the day, the 400-meter run, Foster came in with a time of 54.61 seconds, placing him 17th.
 
Saturday's events in the decathlon include the 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1,500-meter run.
 
Lynch and Foster will compete Saturday in the second day of the Phil Esten Challenge. Events will get underway at 1 p.m. The remainder of the Yellowjacket track and field team, meanwhile, will compete at the Holst Invitational, hosted by Concordia St. Paul. Events will begin at 10 a.m. at Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul, Minn.