MORRIS, Minn. – The Yellowjacket men's track and field team held a 20-point lead after the first day of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and were poised to win the program's fourth straight outdoor title, and eighth in the last nine years.
Saturday marked the second day of the UMAC Championships, and the Yellowjackets put in a strong effort on the day, but in the end, it wasn't enough to hold onto the top spot on the leaderboard.
The Yellowjackets finished the weekend with a total of 212 points, giving them a second-place finish. Martin Luther had a strong day Saturday, coming from behind to earn the conference title with a total of 234 points. The championships were a two-horse race, with the Yellowjackets finishing nearly 100 points ahead of third place Crown, who had 118 points.
Leading the way for the Yellowjackets Saturday was
Zach Reese (Zimmerman, Minn./Spectrum), who defended his UMAC championship in the 5,000-meter run, coming in with a time of 15:54.16. He was 14 seconds ahead of the runner up, teammate
Maverick Hoogland (Catawba, Wis./Phillips), who crossed the line with a time of 16:08.47 seconds.
Meet Notes
- In the 5,000 meters, the Yellowjackets earned 32 points, having six of the race's top seven finishers. Kieran Johnson (South Range, Wis./Northwestern) placed fourth (16:32.35) while Dylan Uitto (Ashland, Wis./Ashland) placed fifth (16:36.99)
- Will Schorr (Superior, Wis./Superior) won the 100-meter dash preliminary race Friday, and placed third in Saturday's final, crossing the line with a time of 11.26 seconds. Ethan Bowe (Chetek, Wis./Chetek-Weyerhaeuser) also had a top five finish, coming in with a time of 11.43.
- In the preliminary race of the 110-meter hurdles Friday, Garrett Lynch (Portage, Wis./Portage) finished second and Earl Foster (Forest Lake, Minn./Spectrum) third to qualify for the finals. The duo flipped places Saturday, with Foster placing second with a personal record time of 15.23 seconds. Lynch ended up third with at time of 15.53 seconds, a new season best. Joseph Kamara (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) ended up fourth with a time of 15.91 seconds.
- Uitto was the runner up in the 1,500 meters, coming in with a time of 4:02.01. He finished just ahead of Reese who was third with a time of 4:07.10. Both times were personal records.
- In the field events Foster continued his big weekend, placing fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 12.05 meters.
- The Yellowjackets placed fourth in both the 4-x-100-meter and 4-x-400-meter relays.
- In the 4-x-100 meters, the team of Edward Hakanson (Foxboro, Wis./Superior), Ethan Ashworth (Danbury, Wis./Webster), Frank Terway (Brownton, Minn./Glencoe Silver Lake) and Schorr came in with a season best time of 43.44 seconds.
- The team of Ashworth, Schorr, Garrett Kroells (Green Isle, Minn./Sibley East) and Hakanson finished the 4-x-400-meter relay with a time of 3:31.77, a new season best.
- The Yellowjackets had 17 personal records and 10 season bests this weekend.
- Foster's mark in the javelin Friday, 60.49 meters, broke the school record for the event. The previous mark was set in 2018 by Noah Potratz.
The Yellowjackets will return to action when they compete at the Eagle Open, hosted by UW-La Crosse. The first events are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Sports Complex.
