On Saturday, April 7, the Lawrence University men’s and women’s track and field teams laced up their running shoes and participated in the Wisconsin Private College Championship track event held in Waukesha, Wisconsin. In their first meet of the term, our men’s track and field team placed sixth in the team standings with 62 points. Concordia University men’s track and field team won the title with 107 points. Our Lady Vikes track and field team placed ninth in the team standings this past weekend with 12 points. St. Norbert College women’s track and field team won the title with 147 points.
Sophomore Will Nichols was the star this weekend for Lawrence University track and field program. Nichols was the fastest men’s sprinter at the Wisconsin Private College Championships. He won the 100- and 200-meter sprint. He also ran on the second place 4×100 relay team. Nichols finished the 100-meter sprint in 11.55 seconds to edge out Jacob Roy of Concordia University. The 200-meter sprint was a thriller that ended with a photo finish. Nichols turned on the jets to beat Paxton Smith of Viterbo University. Nichols ran the 200-meter in 22.62 seconds while Smith finished with a time of 22.65.
This weekend was not all about Will Nichols, however. Lawrence men’s track and field team dominated the 5,000-meter race at the Wisconsin Private College Championships. Junior Josh Janusiak and sophomore Joe Kortenhof finished first and second, respectively, in the 5,000. Janusiak finished with a time of 15:25.31, and Kortenhof followed Janusiak with a time of 15:35.75. These two Lawrence athletes outclassed the rest of the field. There was a 23-second gap behind Kortenhof before the third place finisher crossed the line.
The men’s 4×100 relay team was also in top form this weekend. The men’s 4×100 relay team consists of Nichols, freshman Ethan Simmons, freshman Tom Goldberg, and freshman Alex DuVall. They placed second with a time of 45.81 seconds. Beloit College took the title in the 4×100 relay with a time of 44.46 seconds. As far as the field events are concerned, sophomore Gabe Baker placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 124 feet. Baker also placed seventh in the hammer throw with a distance of 120-4. Simmons was the long jumper of the day for Lawrence; he placed fifth in the long jump with a leap of 19-2.75.
There were some notable performances for the women’s track and field team this weekend at the Wisconsin Private College Championships. Sophomore Mikaela Hintz, senior Fanita Robins, freshman Nora Robinson and freshman Emily Hoeft ran for the women’s 4×100 relay team. They led the Lady Vikings by placing fifth with a time of 54.10 seconds. Mikaela Hintz also placed sixth in the 200-meter sprint with a time of 28.10 seconds. Last, but not least, sophomore Hallie Sogin finished sixth in the 400 hurdles with a finishing time of 1:16.65.
