The Lawrence University men’s and women’s track teams began their spring season schedule in some cloudy and wet weather at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Open on Saturday, April 6. The women’s team finished fourth out of six teams and the men’s team placed fourth out of five.
The highlights of the day for the men’s side included a trio of third place finishes. Senior Sam Stevens grabbed third place in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:05.94. Freshman Tyler Herman also notched a third place finish in the 400 meters with a time of 52.47 seconds. The final third place finish for the men came in the 1,600 meter relay event, where the team finished in 3:38.20. Members of that relay team include Herman, junior Mike Mangian and freshmen Matthew Geleske and Ben Bard. The top finisher for the Vikings during the throwing events was junior Andy Paider, who took 11th place in the hammer throw. Sophomore Spencer Swick notched 13th place in the shot put and 14th in the discus throw. Finally, freshman James Holden took eighth place in the javelin throw.
On the women’s side, a pair of second place finishes headlined their day. Senior Rose Tepper took runner-up in the high jump at 5 ft. 1 in, while the 1,600 relay team also captured second with a time of 4:23.53. That squad included Tepper, freshman Liza Girsova, sophomore Anna Bolgrien and freshman Hayley Cardinal. Girsova also took seventh in the 200 meters with a time of 27.82 seconds and Bolgrien grabbed third in the 400 hurdles in 1:07.22. Freshman Sofie Yang finished eighth in the triple jump. Junior Katherine Dannecker took 17th place in the 1500 meter run amongst a deep field of runners and junior Sam Luebke placed ninth in the long jump.
The Vikings were excited to get outside and compete, even though the weather was not the most ideal. “It is always fun to compete,” mentioned Paider. “We fought through the weather and started off the season strong. We are all excited to continue working hard and improve at each meet, every weekend.”
The next event for Lawrence is April 13 when they will travel to Milwaukee to compete in the Wisconsin Lutheran Invitational. Paider is anxious, once again, to put his skills to the test. “You work hard all week on your strength and technique. These meets are our chance to show off our talents. The overall goal is continue to beat your own personal records and peak at the Midwest Conference Championships at the end of the season.”