May 15, 2011

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IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Faced with competing on a cold, damp and dreary day like Saturday, it would be easy for an athlete to hang his head.

However, in spite of the dismal conditions, several members of the Wisconsin men's track and field team put their heads down and got to work at the 2011 Big Ten Outdoor Championships.

Chief among those was junior David Grzesiak, who battled back from a slow start in the decathlon to finish on the medal stand after the 10-event competition concluded at the Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track.

Grzesiak, who stood in eighth place after four events but worked his way up to fifth following the first day of competition, continued his upward trajectory over the final five events Saturday. His steady climb up the leaderboard led to a third-place finish as he put together a final score of 7,138 points.

Combined with the 19 team points UW drew from Friday night's 10,000 meters, Grzesiak's performance help stake the Badgers to a sixth-place tie in the team standings with 30 points.

Minnesota holds the lead with a two-day point total of 68.5, while Ohio State stacks up third with 48 points and Indiana stands third with 37.

Grzesiak opened the day fourth-fastest in the 110-meter hurdles at 15.33 seconds to pick up some ground, but his effort of 116 feet, 8 inches in the discus set him back to sixth place in the overall standings.

However, a strong showing in the pole vault -- which was moved indoors due to the inclement conditions -- provided a boost as Grzesiak cleared 15-3. Teammate Ian Jansen also made it over the bar at 15-3 as he battled to break into the scoring.

In the end, the junior fell just short with a ninth-place finish on the strength of his 10-event score of 6,531 points.

Grzesiak's charge got another boost when he threw 169-8 in the javelin, the third-best mark in the field, to put himself in good position heading into the 1,500 meters.

He finished the job by leaving the rest of the field in his wake with a time of 4:30.71 that was more than seven seconds faster than the second-place finisher.

Beyond the decathlon, Saturday was mainly about advancing athletes through preliminary rounds and into Sunday's finals. However, the Badgers also picked up points in both the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the long jump.

Redshirt freshman Japheth Cato provided the scoring in the long jump with his sixth-place mark of 23 feet, 4 inches. In the steeplechase, freshman Alex Brill made a late charge to grab seventh place in a time of 8:52.87.

The Badgers also set themselves up for points with qualifying performances in the prelims of several events, including:

• The 4x100-meter relay, with the quartet of Cato and juniors Adum Gross, Brady Hammon and Kyle Jefferson clocking in seventh-fastest at 41.27. Sophomore Gavin Robertson, who ran on the Badgers' championship-winning effort in the 4x100 last year, is expected to compete in the final after being slowed by injury for much of the season.

• The 1,500 meters, where sophomore Rob Finnerty used an outstanding run to lay down a time of 3:50.07 that has him as the top seed for Sunday's final. UW has won two straight titles in the event, with Craig Miller claiming the crown in 2009 before finishing runner-up to teammate Jack Bolas' championship effort last year.

• The 800 meters, with senior Zach Beth advancing through in a time of 1:50.48 as he looks to repeat the success he found last year in racing to All-Big Ten honors with a runner-up finish in the event.

The Badgers also will compete in the shot put, triple jump, javelin, 5,000 meters and 4x400-meter relay as the three-day meet comes to a close Sunday. The final day of the championships begins with the women's triple jump at 11 a.m.