LA CROSSE, Wis. – A week after winning the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) outdoor track and field championship, the seventh such championship in program history, the Yellowjacket men's track and field team returned to action at the UW-La Crosse Eagle Open Friday.

The meet is one of the final events for athletes to qualify for the 2024 NCAA Championships, which are coming in up in just a couple weeks.
 
It was a good day for the Yellowjackets, headlined by the 4-x-100-meter relay team made up of Edward Hakanson (Foxboro, Wis./Superior Senior), Will Schorr (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior), Ethan Westimayer (Laona, Wis./Laona) and Garrett Lynch (Portage, Wis./Portage). The quartet placed fifth on the day, coming in with a time of 43.33 seconds. The time also established a new school record, breaking the previous best of 43.40 seconds, set in 1989.
 
David Collins (Ironwood, Mich./Luther L. Wright) was just shy of matching his personal record, finishing the 800-meter run with a time of 2:02.66. Collins placed second in his heat for the 800.
 
In the field events, Nate Ohman (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern) earned a top-ten finish in the shot put, placing eighth with a heave of 15.53 meters. He was .21 meters short of a personal record. Ohman was even better in the hammer throw, placing sixth with a mark of 52.12 meters.
 
Earl Foster (Forest Lake, Minn./Spectrum) placed in the top five in the javelin, placing fifth with a throw of 46.67 meters.
 
Meet Notes

• Ben Plackner (Bovey, Minn./Greenway) and Tyler Smith (Ironwood, Mich./Ironwood) competed in the 1,500-meter run, finishing with times of 4:18.72 and 4:41.93, respectively.
• Kieran Johnson (South Range, Wis./Northwestern) just missed out on a PR in the 5,000 meters, finishing with a time of 17:01.95.
• Ben Babcock (Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area) was just outside the top ten in the triple jump, placing 11th with a mark of 12.95 meters. Babcock also competed in the long jump.
• Iain Matheson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) finished second in his heat of the 200-meter dash, coming in with a time of 22.71 seconds.
• Carson Wilhorn (Necedah, Wis./Necedah) competed in the shot put, discus and hammer throw.
• Garrett Kroells (Green Isle, Minn./Sibley East) ran in the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter hurdles.

The Yellowjackets will return to action Wednesday when they compete at the Midwest Twilight, hosted by Augustana College of Rock Island, Ill. Events will start at 1 p.m. at the Knowlton Outdoor Athletic Complex.