MORRIS, Minn. – It's safe to say the Yellowjacket men's track and field team is a dynasty in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). When competing indoors, the Yellowjackets have claimed eight consecutive UMAC championships. Outdoors, the 'Jackets had won six titles since 2016, including the last two in a row.

Make it three.
 
In one of the tightest meets in recent years, the Yellowjackets battled hard and came away with a third straight UMAC outdoor track and field championship. The Yellowjackets entered the day with an 11-point lead over second-place Martin Luther. They were able to increase the lead every so slightly, but it was enough to hold the Knights at bay and claim the conference championship trophy.
 
The Yellowjackets accumulated 253 points on the weekend, putting them 16 points clear of Martin Luther. Minnesota Morris rounded out the top three, but the Cougars were well back of the top two, finishing with 105 points. Closing out the field were Crown (91 points), Bethany Lutheran (38), North Central (32) and Northwestern (13).
 
In addition to winning the conference title, the Yellowjackets also had a school record fall. In the triple jump, Ben Babcock (Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area) placed third with a leap of 13.43 meters. In addition to establishing a new personal record, Babcock set a new school record, bettering the previous mark by .25 meters. The old record was set by Sean Oswald in 2000.
 
Staying in the field events, Saturday was also a big day for senior Nate Ohman (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern). Ohman got the meet off to a great start Friday, winning the hammer throw. He added two more conference championships to his resume Saturday, coming in first in the shot put with a mark of 15.74 meters. Ohman was also victorious in the discus with a throw of 41.46 meters. Both of Ohman's Saturday marks set new personal records.
 
Moving to the track events, Aidan Doherty (Wild Rose, Wis./Wild Rose) won the conference championship in the 1,500 meters, coming in with a time of 4:08.40. He was less than a second ahead of the runner-up, teammate Dylan Uitto (Ashland, Wis./Ashland), whose time was 4:09.13. David Collins (Ironwood, Mich./Luther L. Wright) finished in fourth place, while Zach Reese (Zimmerman, Minn./Spectrum) was fifth, giving the Yellowjackets four of the top five places. Uitto, Collins and Reese all set personal records.
 
Reese wasn't finished. He would later win the conference championship in the 5,000 meters, clocking a time of 16:17.92. Doherty was fourth in the 5,000, finishing with a time of 16:34.17.
 
In the 110-meter hurdles, Earl Foster (Forest Lake, Minn./Spectrum) was the runner-up with a time of 15.93 seconds.
 
Meet Notes

• The 4-x-400-meter relay team brought home a conference championship, clocking a time of 3:28.30. The team was made up of Ethan Westimayer (Laona, Wis./Laona), Bryce Boldt (Waupaca, Wis./Waupaca), Joel Thomas (Cardiff, Wales/Islwyn) and Iain Matheson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior).
• Foster had a pair of top five finishes in field events, placing fifth in the discus and high jump. He also set a new personal record in the triple jump with a mark of 12.38 meters.
• After qualifying for Saturday's final in the 100-meter dash, Westimayer and Will Schorr (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) turned in top-five performances. Westimayer placed third with a time of 11.14 seconds, while Schorr was right behind him, placing fourth with a time of 11.19 seconds.
• In the 400-meter finals, Matheson placed fourth with a time of 51.84 seconds.
• The 4-x-100-meter relay team placed second with a time of 43.55 seconds. The team was made up of Westimayer, Schorr, Edward Hakanson (Foxboro, Wis./Superior Senior) and Garrett Lynch (Portage, Wis./Portage).
• In the discus, Ohman was 1.19 meters clear of the runner-up, who just happened to be his younger brother Greg, who competes for Minnesota Morris.

The conference champion Yellowjackets will be back in action Friday, May 10 when they compete at the Eagle Open, hosted by UW-La Crosse. Events will begin at 3 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Sports Complex.