On Friday, April 3, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Track & Field team competed in the Ashton May Invitational. This was the first outdoor meet of the season and gave athletes a chance to get prepared for the demanding season ahead.
“It [the meet] is a rust buster…you might have gotten relaxed after the indoor season ended a little while ago, but this is your chance to get back to it,” said third-year hurdler Finn Patenaude.
The meet was held in UWL’s very own Veterans Memorial Stadium. Competing on home turf added an extra emotional element for team members as familiar faces popped up all over the crowd.
“When you recognize other people’s parents and extended family it’s the sweetest thing…I feel a lot closer to La Crosse as a whole being and the sport is emotional, so it brings us together,” said Patenaude.
Aside from uniting the community, teams from around Wisconsin and the local area were brought together to compete. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee came to face off against the Eagles along with an array of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) teams including UW-Stout, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Eau Claire.
These WIAC teams and athletes always give the Eagles a challenge, however, UWL loves the challenge to prove themselves and contend with the very best.
“You know pressure is a privilege and we have the privilege of competing against really talented athletes in this conference [the WIAC] and we love the pressure. We love the competition because we know it’s going to push us to do better,” said fourth-year sprinter Ryder Smith.
Apart from competing against WIAC teams, weather added another challenge as pouring rain and frigid winds were a constant throughout Friday’s meet. UWL athletes made sure to take extra measures to ensure they were competing at their highest level.
“You have to try and conserve as much energy as possible but on days like today you can’t have too high of expectations…my goal is just to go out there, have fun and honestly not get hurt,” said fourth-year hurdler Luke Schroeder.
Despite conditions while competing, the UWL men and women’s team would end the meet with four titles each.
For the men’s events Evan Maurad came away from the 100-meter dash with a first-place time of 10.58 seconds. Jayden Zywicki conquered the 1500-meter run with a time of 3:50.16 and six other Eagles would also place within the top seven. When it came to field events, Allen Stupinean took long jump with a mark of 22 feet and 10 ¾ inches. Gabe Olsen also pulled out a win in triple jump scoring 45 feet and 4 ½ inches.
For the women’s events Brookyln Lubeke won the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:22.22. The 4×400 meter relay was claimed by Taylor Molling, Grace Kern, Alli Thomas and Madison Hecker. And when it came to field events Alyssa Pierce won the shot put and Ella Puls won the hammer throw.
Though rewarding, winning titles was not the only goal for members of the team. With nationals and conference on the minds of many athletes, goals were set on putting up qualifying times for those meets. Schroeder was among those able to qualify.
“This is the meet to just go out, compete and get marks down for a qualifying championship season, so that was my main goal coming in just get my national mark down which I think I did,” commented Schroeder.
The men and women’s teams will continue their season on April 10, at the UW-Platteville Invitational. More stats and information can be found on the UWL athletics webpage.
