LINCOLN, Neb. – The Badgers dominated the first half of the heptathlon events yesterday, and continued to do so again on Saturday during the second day of competition at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invite.
 
Trent Nytes had a huge day, as he was the top collegian in the heptathlon thanks to a personal-best score of 5,656 points, which ranks fifth all-time at UW. Nytes came out with a strong start in the first heptathlon event of the day with a time of 8.40 seconds in the 60 meter hurdles. The junior took seventh in the pole vault, clearing 14 feet, 4 inches (4.37m). To wrap things up, Nytes ran the 1000 meters in a personal-best 2:49.04 to seal his second-place finish.
 
Wisconsin also added another heptathlon score to the record books on Saturday as sophomore Zach Lorbeck finished fourth overall in the heptathlon with a personal best of 5,611 points, ranking sixth all-time at UW. To start things off, Lorbeck finished with a personal-best of 8.30 in the heptathlon 60 meter hurdles. In the pole vault, Lorbeck cleared 14-0 (4.27m) to place eighth overall. In the final heptathlon event, the Green Bay, Wis. native finished 10th overall in the 1000 meters with a PR time of 2:55.72.
 
Paul Afflitto earned an eighth-place overall finish in the heptathlon thanks to a personal-best score of 5,111. Afflitto won his heat of the heptathlon 60 meter hurdles in 8.57 to kick off the second day of competition in Lincoln. The sophomore cleared 13-4 1/4 (4.07m) in the pole vault to take eleventh in the event, and finished seventh in the 1000 meters with a time of 2:53.59 to round out the scoring.
 
Senior Sawyer Smith placed eleventh in the heptathlon with a score of 4,737. Smith continued his first heptathlon campaign of the year with a time of 8.78 in the 60 meter hurdles. In the pole vault, Smith cleared 15-0 (4.57m) to tie for fifth overall, securing his eleventh-place finish but was unable to finish the 1000 meters.
 
On the track, UW sprinters also saw success as senior Corbin Ellis placed third in the final section of the 600 meters, crossing the line in a season best of 1:18.56. Senior Kallen Bentz sprinted to a 22nd-place finish in the 200 meters with a time of 22.64.
 
The Badgers also put up strong performances in the high jump, as freshman George Ghafari placed seventh overall with his personal-best mark of 6-8 3/4 (2.05m). Fellow freshman Zach Dybul matched his previous best mark, clearing 6-6 3/4 (2.00m) to secure his ninth-place overall finish.
 
Next up, the Badgers will travel to Ames, Iowa for the Iowa State Classic next Friday and Saturday.