DULUTH, Minn. – The Yellowjacket men's track and field team saw action across the bridge Saturday, entering in the CSS Opener hosted by St. Scholastica. The meet, previously titled the CSS Early Bird, typically serves as the team's first indoor meet of each season, but with select Yellowjackets seeing action at the UW-Oshkosh Multi, the Opener served as the second event for the 2024-25 campaign.
 
The Yellowjacket men had a strong showing inside the Burns Wellness Commons, garnering nine personal records on the day. They were led by senior Earl Foster (Forest Lake, Minn./Spectrum) and freshman Jesse Ortiz (Medford, Minn./Medford), who broke school records in the 60-meter hurdles and 60-meter dash, respectively.
 
Meet Notes

• Foster, the only Yellowjacket in the race, finished the 60-meter hurdles in 8.56 seconds, which now stands as a new school record.
• In the 60-meter dash, the record was broken four times across the meet. Will Schorr (Superior, Wis./Superior) claimed a 6.94 second finish in the prelims (ranking as 22^nd in all of NCAA Division III), while Ortiz claimed the best time in the finals with a 6.92 race time, earning the 17th best time in the nation.
• The 5,000-meter race saw eight Yellowjackets in the top ten. Zach Reese (Zimmerman, Minn./Spectrum) logged the best time at 16:43.69, who was closely tailed by Aidan Doherty (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) at 16:43.70. Dylan Uitto (Ashland, Wis./Ashland) finished the race in 16:43.83, while Ben Plackner (Bovey, Minn./Greenway) (17:07.50) and Jayde Canfield (Prescott, Wis./Prescott) (17:08.10) followed.
• Plackner and Uitto's finishes in the 5,000-meters were the best of their career to date.
• Kieran Johnson (South Range, Wis./Northwestern) logged a top ten finish in the mile, claiming a 4:53.40 for ninth place overall.
• Garnering a 55.87 second time in the 400-meter race was Marshall Swanson (Ashland, Wis./Ashland), good for a sixth-place finish.
• The finals of the 60-meter dash saw Schorr grab fourth, finishing in 6.97 seconds. In the 200-meter race, he picked up another fourth-place finish, clocking a 22.81 second race time.
• Garrett Kroells (Green Isle, Minn./Sibley East), also competing in the 200-meter race, took eighth with a 23.64 race time.
• Shifting to the 4x400 relay, the Yellowjackets took seventh place with a 3:45.84. The quartet featured Schorr, Swanson, Kroells and Ed Hakanson.
• Shifting to field events, Ortiz logged a 6.62-meter mark in the long jump for a second place ranking in the meet and taking 56^th among NCAA Division III. Jordan Goldfine (Superior, Wis./Superior) took sixth with a mark of 6.23 meters.
• Foster also competed in the triple jump Saturday, taking fourth with a PR of 12.68 meters.
• The Yellowjacket quartet of Jason Thomas (Superior, Wis./Superior), Foster, Garrett Lynch (Portage, Wis./Portage) and Jackson Fiamoncini (Ashland, Wis./Ashland) grabbed top ten finishes in the pole vault. Thomas hit four meters, while Foster and Lynch logged 3.85-meters and Fiamoncini grabbed a tenth-place 3.70-meter marking.
• Carson Wilhorn (Necedah, Wis./Necedah) saw action in the weight throw, and ended his day currently ranked 59^th in the division. His mark of 15.20 meters saw him take fifth, and he also PR'd in shot put with a 12.79 heave.
• Fabian Rosales (Washburn, Wis./Washburn) garnered ninth after heaving a mark of 12.29 in the weight throw as well.

 
The Yellowjackets now have over a month to prepare for their first home meet of the season, the Twin Ports Open. Events are scheduled to commence at 11 a.m. inside the Dr. Lydia C. Thering Fieldhouse in Superior.