Both the men's and women's track and field teams competed in the Drake Relays Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa. The men's competition was highlighted by a record matching performance by Demi Omole. Omole joined Georgia's Mel Lattany (1978-81) as the only two competitors to win four consecutive 100-meter dash championships. Wisconsin only sent competitors for two field events and two relays, but the Badgers still fared quite well. The team of Peter Dykstra, Nathan Brown, Seth Pelock and Nate Larkin earned a second place finish in the 4 x 110-meter high hurdle relay, while the team of Dan Goesch, Joe Detmer, James Groce and Joe Pierre finished sixth in the sprint medley. Rounding out the Badger's performance was s0phomore high jumper Brennan Boettcher. His leap of 6' 6 3?4' was good enough for seventeenth in the high jump.
The men's team also competed at the Kip Janvrin Open in Indianola, Iowa. The Badgers picked up two first place finishes as well as receiving one NCAA Regional qualifying finish on Saturday. Derek Thiel and Sal Fadel tied for first in the pole vault completing a height of 15' 7'. Joe Conway won the long jump and qualified for regional competition with his leap of 24' 3 3?4'.
Wisconsin added to the hectic weekend by sending one relay to the competitive Penn Relays. The Badger's 4 x 1600-meter relay finished second after leading for the first two miles of the race. In the end, NCAA mile champion Leonel Manzano of Texas was just too much for the Badgers' Chris Solinsky to handle, as Texas (16:21.57) edged out the Badgers (16:23.35).
The women's track team also competed in Des Moines and Indianola Saturday. At the Drake Relays, the 4x1600-meter relay team of Ann Detmer, Gwen Jorgensen, Sarah Hurley and A Havahla Haynes finished in a team best second place. The relay team Alex McCannel, Nicole Slaby, Caitlin Dodge and Erica Schoeller also enjoyed success as they finished third in the sprint medley.
At the Kin Janvrin Open in Indianola Iowa, the Badgers claimed victory in two events. Kaitlyn Marsolek won the 400-meter dash with a time of 57.86 seconds, and Lindsey Heinzmann tied for first place in the pole vault with a successful jump of 12'. Samantha Dehn (discus), Amanda Hoeppner (shot put) and Sandy Jorgenson (400 meter dash) also tasted success as they each shared a respectable third place finish.
