(with Liz Baker, left, and Alison Ross, right)
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| Jessica Scott broke the 400-meter record (with Liz Baker, left, and Alison Ross, right) |
Track and field meets are full of surprising performances, but the most surprising part of the Impact Sports/Nike UW-Platteville Invitational happened before the meet even began.
Coaches loaded the on-line registration just days before the meet, turning Saturday's competition into a huge spectacular with more than 20 teams.
"Last year, we only had a few teams and we questioned whether it was even worth it," said Pioneer Coach Jim Nickasch. "I'm not sure there were many other schools having events (this year) and then word started to spread about the competition, and here we are."
The meets featured powerhouses such as Wash. U., Luther, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stevens Point, Coe, Monmouth and more joining the Pioneers.
"There are schools from all conferences here," the Pioneer coach said. "It's good for the school and for the whole team."
The Pioneers won four events in the meet, which did not have team scores.
Jessica Scott broke the school-record 400-meter run. She ran a 58.21 which broke Heidi Herberlein's 2006 time of 58.23. This time is an NCAA III national provisional qualifying time.
Ben Zizis finshed won the 55 meter hurdles with NCAA III provisional qualifying time of 7.74 seconds.
Cody Helgeson finished in first place in the high jump. He jumped 6 feet 3.25 inches.
Gabrielle Ethier took first in the triple jump with a seson-best jump of 36 feet.
Russ Goessl ran a 8:55.38 in the 3000-meter run to place second.
Corey Digman earned second place in the shot put with a throw of 50 feet 4 inches.
The UW-Platteville women's 4x400 meter relay team placed second in 4:16.09. The four women were Sara Weisman, Sara Novotny, Kristy Curry, and Lindsey Vick.
The 4x400 meter relay team for the UW-Platteville men placed third with a time of 3:27.37. The men involved on this relay team were Mitch Spees, Andy Watters, Robert Cook, and Adam Buss.
Alison Ross placed third also in the 400-meter run with a time of 1:00.43, and Liz Baker was right behind Ross for fourth place with a time of 1:01.25.
UW-Platteville competes at UW-Stevens Point next Saturday, Feb. 23.
(Reporting contributions by Mallory Mau, Sports Information Student Assistant)
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