Wisconsin Shell Shocker signals final home meet of indoor season

Friday, February 17

Madison, Wis.

3 PM

Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin Shell Shocker

Wisconsin Shell Shocker signals final home meet of indoor season

February 16, 2017 | Men's Track & Field

Badgers look to gain momentum before Big Tens

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin men's track and field team hosts its final meet of the indoor season on Friday. The Wisconsin Shell Shocker also marks the final chance for athletes to book their ticket to the 2017 Big Ten Indoor Championships, which will begin Friday, Feb. 24.

Wisconsin vs. Shell Shocker
Date	Friday, Feb. 17
Location	Madison, Wis. \| T he Shell
Admission	Free
Meet Info	Schedule \| Heat Sheets
Follow	Live Results \| @BadgerTrackXC

Competition for the Wisconsin Shell Shocker, held at The Shell, starts at 3 p.m. with field events followed by the running events starting at 5:30 p.m.

During the Badgers latest meet at the Iowa State Classic, the team delivered an array of fantastic individual performances, including five top-three finishes and 12 personal records.

At the Wisconsin Shell Shocker, Lorenzo Larry will attempt to capture his fourth victory of the year in the 60 meter dash on Friday, which would give him seven wins in the event during his time at UW. Joining Larry will be Alex Teague and James Stecker. Teague is coming off his best meet of the year, breaking personal records in both the 200 and 400 meters at the Iowa State Classic. Teague and Stecker will also be competing in the 200 meter dash, along with Kallen Bentz.

Senior Brandon Mortensen displayed an impressive performance last weekend in the 60 meter hurdles, and he will also compete in the 60 meter dash. Mortensen netted a personal-best score in the heptathlon thanks to his stellar 60-meter dash performance at the Black and Gold Premier last month.

The 400 meter dash will feature Corbin Ellis, Christopher Wright-Madison and Bentz. Ellis set a personal record last weekend with a run of 48.30 while Wright-Madison and Bentz each earned top-five finishes at home meets earlier this season.

Over in the weight throw, Riley Budde will look to improve upon his second-place performance in Iowa. The junior has won this event three times this season, and will be the favorite to take home the top prize once again. Currently, Budde has the second-best mark in the Big Ten with a throw of 71 feet, 4 inches (21.74 meters). Also in the event is freshman Tucker Wedig, who set a mark of 60-5 1/4 (18.42m) earlier this season which checks in as the seventh best in program history. Wedig will need to improve that distance by at least two feet during the Wisconsin Shell Shocker to earn a place at the conference meet.

Isaac Hale, Paul Afflitto, Jesse Isaacson and John Cioffredi will be representing the Badgers in the high jump. Hale earned a height of 6-7 (2.01m) during the Black and Gold Premier, and needs another inch and a quarter to be in the
running for a spot at the Big Ten Championship.

The shot put will be led by Budde and Josh McDonald. Budde and McDonald have both notched top-15 marks in conference this season, with McDonald's 60-0 ½ (18.57m) throw marking the sixth-best distance in program history.

One of the best competitions between the Badgers will come in the pole vault. Wisconsin is placing six athletes into the mix with Rashid Coulibaly, Tim Guthrie, Zach Lorbeck, Trent Nytes, Travis Toliver and Jake Wallenfang set to participate. Coulibaly, Guthrie and Wallenfang have the top marks this season, with Coulibaly's third-place finish (16-6 3/4) in Iowa last weekend leading the way.

In the mile, Cooper Barth, McKena Ramos and Ryan Clevenger will be headlining the field for Wisconsin. Ramos nearly set a personal record last weekend with a run of 4:13.71 while Barth earned a top-10 finish at the Armory Invitational.

For the 60 meter hurdles, Lorbeck, Afflitto, Toliver and Hale are in the field for UW. Lorbeck has accumulated three top-five finishes in the event this year, while Toliver and Hale will make their collegiate debuts in the hurdles.

Sawyer Smith will be making his first appearance of the year in the long jump. The junior's best mark in the event came two years ago with a distance of 22-6 1/4 (6.86m).

To cap off the meet, the 4x400 meter relay team of Barth, Ramos, Clevenger and Bentz will compete for the final race inside The Shell this season.