Posted 9:28 p.m. Monday, May 6, 2013

UW-L has the honor of hosting the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships, May 23-25, 2013. Volunteers are still needed for the event.

Volunteers needed for national track meet in May 23-25 at UW-L
Nearly 40 years ago UW-L Alumnus Scott Sponholz could run the 440 yard dash in 49.5 seconds. These days the quarter mile race is measured in meters. And Sponholz, now 60 years old, has no desire to sprint it. But that doesn’t stop him from returning to UW-L’s track to absorb the stir of the crowd and the thrill of the gun’s eruption on race day. Sponholz, ’75, of Eau Claire, is one of the many former UW-L track and field alums returning to campus to volunteer for the 2013 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 23-25, 2013, at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. UW-L has the honor of hosting about 800 athletes for the meet — the NCAA Division III’s largest championship event of the year. This is the third time the competition will be held at UW-L. Previous years were 1986 and 1997. “What’s exciting about it is it’s a national meet. You see runners from other parts of the country and it’s fun to talk to them and get to know them — see how they compete,” says Sponholz. “ It’s just exciting to be at a big meet like this.”