COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – The Yellowjacket men's track and field team, fresh off a strong performance at its own Twin Ports Open last weekend, was back in action Saturday, competing at the Saint John's Invitational at the Donald McNeely Spectrum. And like last Saturday, the Yellowjackets once again had a good day filled with big performances.
The Yellowjacket men enjoyed a pair of event wins Saturday. Senior
Zach Reese (Zimmerman, Minn./Spectrum) was victorious in the 3,000-meter run, coming in with a time of 9:06.66, which established a new personal record. Reese bettered his previous record by over 10 seconds, and his time puts him atop the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) leaderboard. Reese has the fastest time in the conference by more than 17 seconds.
Another winner for the Yellowjackets Saturday was
Garrett Kroells (Green Isle, Minn./Sibley East). In the 200 meters, Kroells finished with a time of 23.64 seconds, edging out former teammate
Ethan Westimayer (Laona, Wis./Laona) who raced unattached, by .01 seconds.
Rene Sems (Ashland, Wis./Ashland) turned in a solid performance in the pole vault, finishing in a tie for third place by clearing the bar at a height of 3.95 meters. The mark set a new lifetime personal record for Sems and places him fourth in the UMAC rankings. He edged teammate
Jason Thomas (Superior, Wis./Superior), who finished fifth with a mark of 3.80 meters.
Meet Notes
- Freshman Jesse Ortiz (Medford, Minn./Medford) was the runner-up in the 60-meter dash, coming in with a time of 7.06 seconds. Will Schorr (Superior, Wis./Superior) also placed in the top five, finishing fourth with a time of 7.16 seconds.
- Schorr also had a top 10 finish in the 200 meter run, finishing seventh with a time of 23.79 seconds.
- Dylan Uitto (Ashland, Wis./Ashland) finished fifth in the mile, coming across the line with a time of 4:31.72.
- A week after setting a new school record in the 200-meter hurdles, Earl Foster (Forest Lake, Minn./Spectrum) earned a top three finish in the 60-meter hurdles, placing third with a time of 9.28 seconds Saturday.
- In the field events Carson Wilhorn (Necedah, Wis./Necedah) earned a top five finish in the shot put, placing fourth with a mark of 12.63 meters. Wilhorn was also fourth in the weight throw, posting a mark of 14.96 meters.
- Ortiz had a second runner-up finish Saturday, placing second in the long jump with a leap of 6.29 meters. Schorr was fourth in the same event, hitting a mark of 5.96 meters, setting a new season best.
- On the day, the Yellowjackets had 13 personal records to go along with six season bests.
The Yellowjackets will be back in action Saturday, Feb. 1 when they travel to UW-Stout for the Warren Bowlus Invite. Events are scheduled to start at 11 a.m. at the UW-Stout Sports and Fitness Center.
