FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Following a long weekend of competition in California last week, the Wisconsin men's track and field team is set to participate in the first-ever National Relays, hosted by the University of Arkansas.

Fans can follow Badger action on Twitter (@BadgerTrackXC) for live updates and follow up on UWBadgers.com for a post-meet recap.
 
1. GOING BACK TO CALI: Last weekend in California was full of strong performances by Badgers across the board. In the first decathlon competition of the season, junior Trent Nytes smashed his previous personal best score and moved up to the No. 7 spot in program history in the event with his score of 7,683. Nytes also earned another No. 7 spot on UW's top-ten list for his performance in the decathlon high jump, where he cleared the bar set at 7-2 1/4 (2.19m). Another Badger who put up a dominating performance was sophomore Oliver Hoare, who competed in the elite section of the 1500 meters. Hoare finished eighth overall in the prestigious race with his time of 3:37.84, a personal best by over six seconds. Not only does his time check in at sixth-best in UW program history, but it also ranks No. 4 by a Badger during the collegiate season, and also currently leads the Big Ten Conference. 

2. THE FIRST OF ITS KIND: The 2018 National Relays marks a new meet introduced by the University of Arkansas. Wisconsin is just one of the 16 Power Five Teams from across the NCAA that will be featured at the premiere collegiate relay meet. 

3. RELAY READY: Wisconsin will send two different relay squads to this weekend's meet: a 4x1500 relay and a distance medley relay. The 4x1500 is slated to begin at 7:25 p.m. (CT) on Friday while the DMR will compete at 8:14 p.m. (CT) on Saturday. 

4. TRACK AT BUCKINGHAMS: Members of the Wisconsin men's track and field team were recognized for their successes this week at the tenth-annual Buckinghams awards show. Senior Josh McDonald earned the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor for his work on and off the track, while junior Zack Benning was the recipient of the Unsung Hero Award for his hard work and determination after facing adversity. The men's and women's track and field team swept the Large Team Highest Cumulative GPA Award, and various track and field athletes were also recognized for their community service hours as well as for their hard work in the classroom. 
 
5. WISCONSIN TWILIGHT: The Badgers will return to Madison to host their first home meet of the year, marking the last regular season meet. The Wisconsin Twilight quad meet will take place at the McClimon Track and Field complex and the Badgers will face UNI, ISU, and Marquette