The Wisconsin women's distance medley relay earned a spot at nationals by placing second at the Last Chance"" meet in Notre Dame, Ind., this weekend, while junior pole vaulter Jenny Soceka and the men's 4x400 meter relay team picked up provisional NCAA qualifying marks.
The women's distance medley relay team of seniors Ann Detmer and Nicole Slaby and juniors Carly Ducharme and Gwen Jorgensen finished second, 0.75 seconds behind Illinois in 11 minutes, 9.84 seconds. It was the second best all-time for Wisconsin. While the effort fell just short of the automatic qualifying standard, the relay is guaranteed a spot at nationals, as they rank eighth in the NCAA.
Jenny Soceka earned third place in the pole vault by clearing 13 feet, 1 inch, but her 13-3 1'2 personal best and UW record from the Big Tens puts her at No. 25 in the nation, and only the top 16 get to compete.
The men's 4x400 meter relay team of freshmen Andrew Milenkovski and Quinn Evans, senior Luke Hoenecke and junior James Groce won their meet in 3:09.53, but missed earning a spot at nationals by 1.31 seconds. The effort puts them fifth on UW's all-time list.
The women's 4x400 meter relay placed sixth this weekend at 3:45.89, and junior Sarah Hurley ran 4:52 in the mile for 19th place.
The men's team ran four in the 800 meters, with freshman Luke Rucks placing third in 1:50.63, junior Joe Pierre clocking in at 1:51.63 for ninth, and seniors Steve Ludwig and Eric Hatchell placing 15th and 19th in 1:52.51 and 1:53.29, respectively.
Sophomore Ryan Gasper aimed to improve upon his provisional mark in the mile, but came up a little short, as he ran 4:05.96 for seventh place.
Also, junior Brennan Boettcher placed sixth in the high jump by clearing 6-7 1'2, and freshman Rayme Mackinson long jumped 22-7 for eighth place.
The women's DMR will join senior Katrina Rundhaug at the NCAA Championships. Rundhaug is currently ranked third in the NCAA after going 15:56.33 at the Big Tens.
Sophomore Brandon Bethke, this year's Big Ten Indoor Athlete of the Year, is going into nationals ranked fourth in the 3,000 meters and 11th in the mile. The UW men's team will also send the eighth-ranked miler sophomore Jack Bolas and the No. 5 distance medley relay.
The NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships take place March 14-15 in Fayetteville, Ark.
