Saturday, February 23
Ann Arbor, Mich.
ALL DAY
Wisconsin Badgers
at
Big Ten Indoor Championships
Photo by: Lauren Sanders
February 23, 2019 | Men's Track & Field
Hoare and McDonald lead Badgers to third-place showing
ANN ARBOR, Wis. – Thanks to stellar performances all across the board, the Wisconsin men's track and field team finished third overall in the team standings at the 2019 Big Ten Indoor Championships. Two big contributors to that accomplishment were distance stars Olli Hoare and Morgan McDonald, who both won championship titles in their respective events.
Hoare posted the second-fastest qualifying time on Friday after winning his preliminary heat of the mile. On Saturday, the Sydney, Australia, native came back and took the crown, crossing the line in 4 minutes, 2.67 seconds.
Fellow Australia native Morgan McDonald saw success of his own in the 5,000 meters after executing his race plan to perfection. The redshirt senior stuck with the front of the pack until there were about six laps to go, when he turned on the jets and extended the distance between himself and Obsa Ali of Minnesota. McDonald clinched the victory after crossing the finish line in 13:37.85.
McDonald's victory earned him a qualifying time for the upcoming NCAA championships and also set a Big Ten Indoor meet record.
Three other athletes competed alongside McDonald in the 5,000 meters, with two earning podium finishes. Ben Eidenschink took fifth with a time of 13:59.91 while Olin Hacker was eighth in 14:06.20. Tyson Miehe also competed, finishing with a time of 14:51.26.
Rashid Coulibaly had a huge performance in the pole vault, vaulting a personal best height of 17-6 1/4 to take runner-up in the event. That marks Coulibaly's best-ever finish at the indoor championships.
The UW multi-event athletes also earned podium finishes, with Trent Nytes leading the way with 5,660 points to earn a third-place finish. Nytes took fifth in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.37 before posting a huge personal best clearance in the pole vault, clearing a height of 15-3. Nytes finished out the day with a fifth place finish in the 1,000 meters, coming through with a time of 2:45.38.
Zach Lorbeck was next to score for UW, finishing fourth in the heptathlon with 5,530 total points. Lorbeck earned a time of 8.45 in the 60 meter hurdles before clearing a height of 13-7 1/4 in the pole vault. The Green Bay, Wisconsin, native crossed the line of the 1,000 meters in 2:56.51 to secure his podium finish.
Paul Afflitto also competed in the heptathlon, taking ninth overall with 5,199 points. Afflitto ran the 60 meter hurdles in 8.53 and went on to clear a height of 14-3 1/4 in the pole vault. He finished out the day with a sixth-place finish in the 1,000 meters, crossing the finish line in 2:49.04.
Wisconsin's middle distance athletes also earned podium finishes in the 800 meters. Eric Brown finished in a time of 1:50.19 to take fourth while teammate redshirt freshman Hudson Kugel took eighth, coming through with a time of 1:56.04.
Straight from the Track
Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Mick Byrne
"At the team meeting on Thursday night we asked everybody to first of all, get out there and compete hard. There are no points in this meet being handed out freely. You've got to go earn every single point. We asked them to do that, compete harder, and then support each other and be a team. You saw that all weekend. Our kids competed."
"Morgan in the 5000 meters. Having to run it in 13:37 and having to do a lot of work, running the race by himself is so difficult. We take it for granted so much because he is Morgan McDonald. That was not easy to do. When you look at the national list, 99 percent of those times were done on large, oversized tracks."
"Rashid taking runner-up in the pole vault, great job. Olli winning the mile in a really dominating fashion was awesome. That puts him in a really good spot going into the National Championships. The distance medley relay team last night. I could just go on and on, it was an overall team effort and that was fun to see. Chasing these Big Ten titles, we were in the race all weekend and that was fun. I'm really proud of our kids the way they competed. That's all any coach can really ask for."
Up Next:
Qualifying athletes will enjoy a weekend off before competing on the national stage at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships. The NCAA meet will take place in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9 at the CrossPlex.
Big Ten Indoor Championships
Ann Arbor, Michigan
February 23, 2019
Heptathlon
3. Trent Nytes – 5,660 points
4. Zach Lorbeck – 5,530 points
9. Paul Afflitto – 5,199 points
Heptathlon 60 Meter Hurdles
5. Trent Nytes – 8.37
7. Zach Lorbeck – 8.45
8. Paul Afflitto – 8.53
Travis Toliver – DNF
Heptathlon Pole Vault
T3. Trent Nytes – 15-3 (4.65m)
T9. Paul Afflitto – 14-3 1/4 (4.35m)
11. Zach Lorbeck – 13-7 1/4 (4.15m)
Heptathlon 1000 Meters
5. Trent Nytes – 2:45.38
6. Paul Afflitto – 2:49.04
9. Zach Lorbeck – 2:56.51
800 Meters
4. Eric Brown – 1:50.19
8. Hudson Kugel – 1:56.04
Mile
1.Olli Hoare – 4:02.67
5,000 Meters
1.Morgan McDonald – 13:37.855
5. Ben Eidenschink – 13:59.91
8. Olin Hacker – 14:06.20
26. Tyson Miehe – 14:51.58
4x400 Relay
Boyd, Dundun, Enz, McHone – DNF
Pole Vault
2. Rashid Coulibaly – 17-6 1/4 (5.34m)
Hoare posted the second-fastest qualifying time on Friday after winning his preliminary heat of the mile. On Saturday, the Sydney, Australia, native came back and took the crown, crossing the line in 4 minutes, 2.67 seconds.
Fellow Australia native Morgan McDonald saw success of his own in the 5,000 meters after executing his race plan to perfection. The redshirt senior stuck with the front of the pack until there were about six laps to go, when he turned on the jets and extended the distance between himself and Obsa Ali of Minnesota. McDonald clinched the victory after crossing the finish line in 13:37.85.
McDonald's victory earned him a qualifying time for the upcoming NCAA championships and also set a Big Ten Indoor meet record.
Three other athletes competed alongside McDonald in the 5,000 meters, with two earning podium finishes. Ben Eidenschink took fifth with a time of 13:59.91 while Olin Hacker was eighth in 14:06.20. Tyson Miehe also competed, finishing with a time of 14:51.26.
Rashid Coulibaly had a huge performance in the pole vault, vaulting a personal best height of 17-6 1/4 to take runner-up in the event. That marks Coulibaly's best-ever finish at the indoor championships.
The UW multi-event athletes also earned podium finishes, with Trent Nytes leading the way with 5,660 points to earn a third-place finish. Nytes took fifth in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.37 before posting a huge personal best clearance in the pole vault, clearing a height of 15-3. Nytes finished out the day with a fifth place finish in the 1,000 meters, coming through with a time of 2:45.38.
Zach Lorbeck was next to score for UW, finishing fourth in the heptathlon with 5,530 total points. Lorbeck earned a time of 8.45 in the 60 meter hurdles before clearing a height of 13-7 1/4 in the pole vault. The Green Bay, Wisconsin, native crossed the line of the 1,000 meters in 2:56.51 to secure his podium finish.
Paul Afflitto also competed in the heptathlon, taking ninth overall with 5,199 points. Afflitto ran the 60 meter hurdles in 8.53 and went on to clear a height of 14-3 1/4 in the pole vault. He finished out the day with a sixth-place finish in the 1,000 meters, crossing the finish line in 2:49.04.
Wisconsin's middle distance athletes also earned podium finishes in the 800 meters. Eric Brown finished in a time of 1:50.19 to take fourth while teammate redshirt freshman Hudson Kugel took eighth, coming through with a time of 1:56.04.
Straight from the Track
Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Mick Byrne
"At the team meeting on Thursday night we asked everybody to first of all, get out there and compete hard. There are no points in this meet being handed out freely. You've got to go earn every single point. We asked them to do that, compete harder, and then support each other and be a team. You saw that all weekend. Our kids competed."
"Morgan in the 5000 meters. Having to run it in 13:37 and having to do a lot of work, running the race by himself is so difficult. We take it for granted so much because he is Morgan McDonald. That was not easy to do. When you look at the national list, 99 percent of those times were done on large, oversized tracks."
"Rashid taking runner-up in the pole vault, great job. Olli winning the mile in a really dominating fashion was awesome. That puts him in a really good spot going into the National Championships. The distance medley relay team last night. I could just go on and on, it was an overall team effort and that was fun to see. Chasing these Big Ten titles, we were in the race all weekend and that was fun. I'm really proud of our kids the way they competed. That's all any coach can really ask for."
Up Next:
Qualifying athletes will enjoy a weekend off before competing on the national stage at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships. The NCAA meet will take place in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9 at the CrossPlex.
Big Ten Indoor Championships
Ann Arbor, Michigan
February 23, 2019
Heptathlon
3. Trent Nytes – 5,660 points
4. Zach Lorbeck – 5,530 points
9. Paul Afflitto – 5,199 points
Heptathlon 60 Meter Hurdles
5. Trent Nytes – 8.37
7. Zach Lorbeck – 8.45
8. Paul Afflitto – 8.53
Travis Toliver – DNF
Heptathlon Pole Vault
T3. Trent Nytes – 15-3 (4.65m)
T9. Paul Afflitto – 14-3 1/4 (4.35m)
11. Zach Lorbeck – 13-7 1/4 (4.15m)
Heptathlon 1000 Meters
5. Trent Nytes – 2:45.38
6. Paul Afflitto – 2:49.04
9. Zach Lorbeck – 2:56.51
800 Meters
4. Eric Brown – 1:50.19
8. Hudson Kugel – 1:56.04
Mile
1.Olli Hoare – 4:02.67
5,000 Meters
1.Morgan McDonald – 13:37.855
5. Ben Eidenschink – 13:59.91
8. Olin Hacker – 14:06.20
26. Tyson Miehe – 14:51.58
4x400 Relay
Boyd, Dundun, Enz, McHone – DNF
Pole Vault
2. Rashid Coulibaly – 17-6 1/4 (5.34m)
Players Mentioned
Multi-Events
/ Men's Track & Field
Middle Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Pole Vault
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Middle Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Multi-Events
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Multi-Events
/ Men's Track & FieldMonday, April 15
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