MORRIS, Minn. – For the Yellowjacket men's track and field team, the mission was simple – continue its dominance.
 
Since becoming a member of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference in 2015, the Yellowjackets have claimed seven consecutive indoor conference titles, with the only year they didn't win it being the first year, 2016. They've been equally as good when things shift outdoors, having won five titles. The only outlier years were 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the event's cancellation, and 2021 when the Yellowjackets placed second.
 
After getting the trophy back in 2022, the Yellowjackets have now made it two in a row.
 
Coming into Saturday with a 22.5-point lead, the Yellowjackets pulled away from the field, accumulating 245.5 points to win the 2023 UMAC Outdoor Track and Field championship.

The Yellowjackets finished 69.5 points ahead of second-place Martin Luther. The University of Minnesota Morris rounded out the top three with 149 points.
 
After posting the top time in the qualifying for the 100-meter dash Friday, Will Schorr (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) was one of the favorites to earn the win Saturday. He didn't win the title, but will still be an All-UMAC selection, placing second with a time of 11.04 seconds.
 
Schorr did get his conference title a little later in the day Saturday, running the anchor leg of the Yellowjacket conference champion 4-x-100-meter relay team. Schorr, along with Steven Pearson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior), Ethan Westimayer (Laona, Wis./Laona) and Ethan Bowe (Chetek, Wis./Chetek-Weyerhaeuser) won the event with a time of 43.63 seconds, finishing more than a full second ahead of the runner up.
 
Iain Matheson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) earned a conference title Saturday, winning the 400 meters with a time 51.20 seconds. Matheson was also the anchor leg on the 4-x-400-meter relay, which won the conference championship with a time of 3:30.09. He was joined on the team by Garrett Kroells (Green Isle, Minn./Sibley East), Bowe and Westimayer.
 
Westimayer won the conference championship in the 200-meter dash Friday, and in addition to being part of the two winning relay teams, had a top finish in the 400 meters. Westimayer placed third with a time of 52.21 seconds.
 
Staying on the track, David Collins (Ironwood, Mich./Luther L. Wright) placed second in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:15.45. He was one of two Yellowjackets in the top five, as Aidan Doherty (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) came across fifth with a time of 4:19.26.

The Yellowjackets also ran strong Saturday in the 5,000 meters, placing three runners in the top five. Zach Reese (Zimmerman, Minn./Spectrum) placed second with a time of 16;42.03, just getting in ahead of teammate Kieran Johnson (South Range, Wis./Northwestern), who was third with a time of 16:43.01. Right on their heels was Michael Butterfield (Bovey, Minn./Greenway) who was fifth with a time of 16:46.56.
 
In the 110-meter hurdles, the Yellowjackets claimed the top two spots. Garrett Lynch (Portage, Wis./Portage) won the conference championship with a time of 15.57 seconds. Earl Foster (Forest Lake, Minn./Spectrum) came in right behind him in second place with a time of 15.84 seconds. Both runners set personal records in the event.
 
Lynch also earned a top-five finish in the high jump, placing fifth with a height of 1.75 meters.
 
Pearson had a top finish in the triple jump, placing fourth with a mark of 11.99 meters.
 
Coming on the heels of his conference championship in the hammer throw, Nate Ohman (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern) was the runner up in the shot put with a mark of 13.57 meters.
 
Next up for the Yellowjackets is the Eagle Open, hosted by UW-La Crosse. The last-chance qualifier is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start Friday, May 12.