Spec Towns Invitational
April 6-7Â | Athens, Georgia
MADISON, Wis. –  Following an impressive outdoor season debut at the California Collegiate Open last weekend, the Wisconsin men's track and field team will travel to Athens, Georgia, to take on the Spec Towns Invite.
Action starts on Friday at 11 a.m. and Saturday at 8 a.m. and Badger fans can follow the action on Twitter (
@BadgerTrackXC).
1. LAST TIME OUT: At their first meet of the outdoor season, the Badgers ended the day with five individual wins and a second place overall finish. On the track,
Ryan Dundun won the 400 hurdles with a personal best time of 52.50 while
Carl Hirsch won the 800 meters in 1 minute, 50.35 seconds. Freshman Finn Gessner also picked up a win in his outdoor debut in the steeplechase with a time of 9:24.62.Â
Rashid Coulibaly started off his outdoor season with a win in the pole vault, clearing 16-0 3/4 (4.90m) to take the crown, while
Tucker Wedig won the hammer throw with a huge personal-best toss of 203-7 (62.07), a mark that ranks fourth all-time at UW.
Four Badgers also competed in the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invite last Friday, with all athletes picking up personal bests.
Zack Snider finished 11th overall in a personal best of 29:15.73 while Ben Eidenschink finished close behind in a PR time of 29:17.42.
Tyson Miehe finished 19th, crossing the line in 29:18.97, a huge personal best for the junior. In his first collegiate 10K,
Zack Benning ran a 29:42.11 to finish 25th overall.
2. MCDONALD TIME: Wisconsin senior
Morgan McDonald has put up some strong performances of his own this season, as he is set to compete in the 5000 meters at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Queensland, Australia. The Sydney, Australia, native won the 5000 meters at the 2018 Australian National Championships and Nominations in what was then a world-leading time of 9:19.05 to punch his ticket to the international championship meet. McDonald will race at 1:40 A.M. (CT) in the event alongside former UW standout Mohammed Ahmed in the prestigious event.
3. ABOUT THE MEET: The Badgers will compete at the Spec Towns Invitational for the third time in the last five years. The competition will be fierce at this year's meet, as three ranked teams will be in attendance, including No. 16 South Carolina, No. 14 Nebraska and No. 7 Georgia.
4. STRAIGHT FROM THE COACH: "This weekend's meet at Georgia is important because it gives most of our athletes an opportunity to compete against top-notch competition outside of the Big Ten, in hopefully warm weather, but more importantly, for us to be together as a combined program supporting each other's efforts," UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country
Mick Byrne said. "Our multi-event athletes will hone their individual skills in preparation for the upcoming decathlon and heptathlon competitions and our throwers will face some amazing national-caliber throwers. When you compete in SEC territory, you can always expect some big-time sprinting, so this is a nice opportunity for our sprinters and relay teams to compete at the highest level."
5. UP NEXT: Wisconsin will stay close to home next weekend, travelling to the Musco Twilight in Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday, April 14.
