ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The Yellowjacket men's track and field team was back in action Saturday, competing in the Gene Glader Classic, hosted by Bethel University. The event served as the final preparatory meet for the Yellowjackets heading into the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Championships next week.
 
It was a great day for the Yellowjackets, who accumulated 101 points, which was good enough for second place among the seven teams.
 
Host Bethel took home first place honors, finishing the day with 224 points.
 
In the field events, Jason Thomas (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) earned first place honors in the pole vault, clearing the bar at a height of 3.66 meters. Isaac Hanson (Hayward, Wis./Hayward) was right behind Thomas, placing second after clearing a height of 3.36 meters.
 
Nate Ohman (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern) placed third in the shot put with a mark of 15.24 meters. Ohman also had a top-ten finish in the weight throw, placing eighth with a heave of 14.58 meters.
 
The Yellowjackets placed three in the top ten of the long jump. Ethan DeFoe (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) placed third with a mark of 5.96 meters. Chancellor Davis placed sixth with a personal record leap of 5.38 meters, while Wyatt Tischler was seventh with a mark of 5.10 meters.
 
Sprinter Will Schorr (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) had another good day. In the 200 meters he placed second, coming in with a time of 23.53 seconds. He added a third-place finish in the 60-meter dash, finishing with a time of 7.24 seconds.
 
Dylan Uitto (Ashland, Wis./Ashland) finished third in the 800 meters, coming in with a time of 2:06.97. He was just ahead of Ben Plackner (Bovey, Minn./Greenway) who finished the race in 2:08.37. Tyler Smith (Ironwood, Mich./Ironwood) placed eighth, finishing with a time of 2:14.50, which also established a new personal record.
 
In the mile, Aidan Doherty (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) placed third with a time of 4:40.31. Not far behind Doherty was Kieran Johnson (South Range, Wis./Northwestern), who finished fifth with a time of 4:51.39. Doherty's time was a season best, while Johnson's time was a personal record.
 
Meet Notes

• In addition to the Yellowjackets and Bethel, Crown, Minnesota Morris, Northwestern, North Central and Concordia St. Paul also competed Saturday.
• Garrett Kroells (Green Isle, Minn./Sibley East) finished sixth in the 60-meter hurdles, coming in with a time of 11.36 seconds.
• The 4-x-200-meter relay team, consisting of Edward Hakanson (Foxboro, Wis./Superior Senior), Jordan Goldfine (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior), Bryce Boldt (Waupaca, Wis./Waupaca) and Ethan Westimayer (Laona, Wis./Laona) placed second and established a new season best with a time of 1:33.15. Right behind them, with a time of 1:36.42 was the team made up of Tischler, DeFoe, Thomas and Schorr.
• Other top-ten finishes Saturday came from Hakanson (seventh in the 200 meters), Marshall Swanson (Ashland, Wis./Ashland) (eighth in the 400 meters) and Tischler (fourth in the triple jump).
• The Yellowjackets posted seven personal records and two season bests Saturday.

Friday Action
Four Yellowjackets were on the road Friday, competing at the Maverick Invite, hosted by Minnesota State University Mankato. The event features a strong field, loaded with NCAA Division II and Division III programs from throughout the region.

Westimayer earned a top-ten finish in the 200-meter dash, finishing with a time of 23.41 seconds.

Shifting to distance running, David Collins (Ironwood, Mich./Luther L. Wright) turned in a strong performance in the 3,000 meters, placing second with a time of 9:04.78. Right behind Collins was Michael Butterfield (Bovey, Minn./Greenway), who placed fourth with a time of 9:07.59.

In the field events, Ben Babcock (Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area) turned in his best performance of the season in the long jump. Babcock hit a mark of 6.78 meters, placing him third. In addition to setting a new personal record, Babcock now has the leading jump in the UMAC this season.

Next up for the Yellowjackets is the UMAC Indoor Championships, which UW-Superior will host, Feb. 23-24. The events will begin Friday afternoon at the Lydia Thering Fieldhouse.