LA CROSSE, Wis. – The outdoor season for the Yellowjacket men's track and field team is dwindling down as we enter the month of May, and Friday the squad was in La Crosse for the annual Eagle Open. After claiming second in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Championships last week, the team returned to action and faced a strong field of some of the nation and region's best teams.
The meet hosted by UW-La Crosse serves as one of the final events for student-athletes to qualify for the 2025 NCAA Championships, which is set for two weeks in Geneva, Ohio. Friday the 'Jackets fared well, collecting multiple PRs on the afternoon. Leading the way was senior
Earl Foster (Forest Lake, Minn./Spectrum), who finished fourth overall in the javelin with a heave of 56.10 meters.
Meet Notes
- In the first round of the 100-meter dash Ethan Bowe (Chetek, Wis./Chetek-Weyerhaeuser) took fifth in his heat with a time of 11.30 seconds.
- Maverick Hoogland (Catawba, Wis./Phillips) ran in the 5,000-meter race, collecting a 12th place finish of 16:03.51 in his heat.
- The 400-meter race featured Garrett Kroells (Green Isle, Minn./Sibley East) who took fifth in his heat at 53.98 seconds, coming in 16th place overall. Later he ran the 200-meter and garnered 27th overall with a time of 22.77.
- Both Deryck Parduhn (Ashland, Wis./Ashland) and Oleksandr Danylov (Kyiv, Ukraine/European Collegium) raced in the 800-meters, collecting times of 2:09.34 and 2:22.73, respectively.
- Dylan Uitto (Ashland, Wis./Ashland) and Ben Plackner (Bovey, Minn./Greenway) saw action in the 1,500-meter race, competing in separate heats. Uitto clocked a 3:59.98 while Plackner crossed the line in 4:14.94.
- The 3,000-meter steeplechase saw a trio of Yellowjackets compete, including Jayde Canfield (Prescott, Wis./Prescott) (10:23.92), Kieran Johnson (South Range, Wis./Northwestern) (10:46.99) and Dominick Meisner (Bloomer, Wis./Bloomer) (10:56.61).
- In the high jump Garrett Lynch (Portage, Wis./Portage) set a mark at 4.34 meters, while Rene Sems (Ashland, Wis./Ashland) vaulted to a mark of 4.19 meters.
- Carson Wilhorn (Necedah, Wis./Necedah) finished 15th overall in the hammer throw, collecting a heave of 49.06 meters.
Select Yellowjackets will now prepare for the NCAA Last Chance Qualifier, hosted at Augustana College. The two-day event is set for May 14-15 at the Austin E. Knowlton Outdoor Athletic Complex in Rock Island, Ill.
