Five events to watch: Big Ten Outdoor Championships

Friday, May 14

Champaign, Ill.

Wisconsin Badgers

Big Ten Outdoor Championships

Max Peckenschneidner hands off to Lawrence Johnson in the 4x100 relay.

Photo by: Kevin Sippy

Five events to watch: Big Ten Outdoor Championships

May 13, 2021 | Men's Track & Field

Badgers compete for Big Ten titles this weekend

By: Diane Nordstrom

Schedule of Events | Watch on B1G Network + (FREE) | Live Results

MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin men's track and field team travels to Champaign, Illinois, to compete in the 2021 Big Ten Conference Outdoor Championships this weekend. The meet runs from Friday-Sunday at Demirjian Park on the University of Illinois campus. The meet will be streamed live for free on B1G Network+.

The 2020 Big Ten Outdoor Championships were canceled due to COVID 19. In 2019, the Badger men finished 10th at the championship with 49 points while the women's team finished seventh with 60 points.

Fans can follow the meet on Twitter and Instagram (@BadgerTrackXC).

Here are five events to watch on this weekend.

1. CHASING DOWN HIS FATHER: Sophomore L.O. Johnson is chasing down his father's all-time marks in the dashes. L.O. has surpassed his father in the 100-meter dash, where he ranks sixth in the Big Ten and eight at Wisconsin in 10.31 seconds. L.O. has a way to go in the 200 meters, running a season's best of 21.17, which ranks 16th in the Big Ten this season. His father, Lawrence, ran a 20.76 back in 1976, which ranks third at UW. L.O. will also compete in the 4x100-meter relay.

2. BADGERS LOAD UP IN 1500: Four Badgers are scheduled to run in the 1500 meters. Sophomore Jackson Sharp ranks fourth in the Big Ten with a season's best mark of 3:52.06. Senior Austin Rendon ranks 16th in 3:44.64 while freshman Jack Meijer is 18th at 3:45.09. Freshman Nick Hruskoci will also compete in his very strategic race.

3. LONG DISTANCE BADGERS: Wisconsin has five athletes scheduled to run in the 5000 meters and four to compete in the 10,000 meters. In the shorter race, senior Olin Hacker comes in with the second-best time in the Big Ten at 13:42.96. Also schedule to run are distance standouts Rowen Ellenberg, Seth Hirsch, Jack Meijer and Jackson Sharp. Sharp finished sixth in the Big Ten Indoor 5000 meters while Hacker placed eighth.

In the 10,000 meters, Hirsch has the third-fastest qualifying time of 28:49.48. He will run with teammates Evan Bishop, Bob Liking and Charlie Wheeler.

4. HURLING BADGERS: A trio of youngsters lead a strong group of throwers. Redshirt freshman Andrew Stone ranks sixth in the Big Ten in the shot put at 63 feet, 4 ¾ inches. He is only four inches off the UW record of 63-8 ¾ set by Riley Budde in 2017. Stone will also compete in the discus where he ranks 15th at 170-7.

In the hammer, freshman Cole Hooper and junior Dan Ufearo will compete on Friday. Hooper ranks seventh in the Big Ten and sixth on the UW all-time list with a throw of 202-1. Ufearo is ranked 14th in the Big Ten and seventh on the Badger record list at 192-3.

5. 400 HURDLE POTENTIAL: Wisconsin has two potential scorers in the 400-meter hurdles, one of the toughest races on the track. Freshman Davis Wenthe ranks sixth in the Big Ten at 51.59 while junior Robby Hatch ran the hurdles for the first time this season last Saturday, running a 53.12. Wenthe and Hatch will also probably compete in the 4x400-meter relay.