For Immediate Release - Friday, May 6, 2005

UW-La Crosse Men and Women Lead After First Day
of WIAC Track & Field Championships

La Crosse, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men’s and women’s teams lead after the first day of competition at the 2005 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Track & Field Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Eagles’ lead the men’s race with 85.0 points while the UW-L women lead with 67.5 points.

UW-Oshkosh is second on the men’s side (78.5) followed by UW-Whitewater (33.0), UW-Stevens Point (32.0), UW-Platteville (25.5), UW-Stout (6.0), UW-Superior (5.0) and UW-Eau Claire (4.0) and UW-River Falls (4.0).

UW-Oshkosh is also second on the women’s side (47.5) followed by UW-Stevens Point (31.0), UW-Whitewater (31.0), UW-Stout (25.5), UW-Eau Claire (24.0), UW-Platteville (23.0), UW-River Falls (12.5) and UW-Superior (11.0).

Individual results on the men’s side included: Nick Boehlke of UW-Oshkosh won the 10,000-meters with a time of 31:41.41. John Heitzman of UW-La Crosse was second (31:46.98) and Nate Hoffman of UW-La Crosse third (32:24.68).

Mark Lalonde captured the 3,000-meter steeplechase with an NCAA III automatic qualifying time of 9:04.92. Mike Herlihy of UW-La Crosse was second with a provisional time of 9:09.48 while Nate Koster of UW-La Crosse third (9:28.12).

Nick Pergande of UW-La Crosse won the pole vault (16-4 3/4) with Jon Heinz of UW-La Crosse second (15-11). Zach Johnson of UW-Oshkosh and Tim Jankowski of UW-Platteville tied for third (15-5). All four provisionally qualified for the NCAA III Championships.

Herc Hyland of UW-La Crosse won the long jump with an automatic qualifying mark of 24-0 1/4. Derek Stanley of UW-Whitewater was second (23-8 1/4) followed by Kyle Ewing of UW-Whitewater (23-5 1/2). Stanley and Ewing provisionally qualified for the national championships.

In the hammer throw, Brandon Houle of UW-Oshkosh won with an automatic qualifying mark of 188-10. Steve Pratt of UW-Oshkosh was second (182-11) followed by Ross Kapp of UW-Whitewater (176-2). Pratt and Kapp both provisionally qualified for the national meet.

Kevin Deering of UW-Oshkosh captured the javelin (184-5) with Bobby Riley of UW-La Crosse second (181-5) and Mike Herrenbruck of UW-Oshkosh third (175-10). All three met NCAA III provisional standards.

UW-Platteville won the 4x800-meter relay (7:48.76) with UW-Oshkosh second (7:48.97) and UW-La Crosse third (7:52.55).

In women’s action, Julia Rudd of UW-La Crosse won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a WIAC Championship record time of 10:32.42. It also met the NCAA III automatic qualifying standard. Rudd also won the steeplechase last season. Holly Ochs of UW-Whitewater was second (11:04.46) and Teresa Stanley of UW-Stevens Point third (11:20.72). Ochs and Stanley provisional qualified.

Laura Verdegan of UW-Stout won the long jump (18-7) with Jennifer Stafslien of UW-Eau Claire second (18-5) and Krista Kopesky of UW-La Crosse third (18-1 1/2). All three provisional qualified for the NCAA Championships.

In the hammer throw, Robyn Jarocki of UW-Oshkosh defended her title from last season with an automatic qualifying and Veterans Memorial Stadium record mark of 179-11. Beth Proeber of UW-Whitewater was second (176-4) and Terri Schwamb of UW-Oshkosh third (166-2). Proeber automatically qualified for the national meet while Schwamb provisionally qualified.

Angela Hilgers of UW-La Crosse won her third straight pole vault title with a championship record mark of 13-1 1/2. She broke her own record of 12-4 1/2 set last season. Hilgers also tied her own Veterans Memorial Stadium record and automatically qualified for the NCAA III Championships. Stephanie Barnes of UW-Eau Claire was second (12-7 1/2) while Bethany Renner of UW-La Crosse placed third (12-1 1/2). Barnes automatically qualified while Renner was a provisional qualifier.

Bethany Richter of UW-Stevens Point won the javelin throw at 124-10 while Becky Knapp of UW-Oshkosh was second (118-11) and Cori Glau of UW-Superior third (115-4).

On the track, Jackie Mulrooney of UW-Platteville captured the 10,000-meters (38:19.11) with Jennifer Rogers of UW-Whitewater second (39:04.61) and Amy Belleba of UW-La Crosse third (39:26.42).

In the final event of day one, UW-Platteville won the 4x800-meter relay (9:25.64) while UW-River Falls was second (9:28.15) and UW-Whitewater third (9:38.55).

Action concludes Saturday in La Crosse.

For complete results, click here