Five events to watch: Badgers head to Arkansas for NCAA West

Wednesday, May 25

Fayetteville, Ark.

Wisconsin Badgers

NCAA West Preliminary Round

Photo by: Carol Chen

Five events to watch: Badgers head to Arkansas for NCAA West

May 23, 2022 | Men's Track & Field

Watch Live Results Meet Information Start List

Athletes look to qualify for NCAA Championship

By: Londyn Butler

MADISON, Wis—The Wisconsin men's track and field team heads to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for for the NCAA West Preliminary Round on Wednesday-Saturday. The Badgers send 13 men to compete in nine events beginning on Wednesday. Field events start at 10 a.m. with running events at 6 p.m.

The top-12 competitors in each individual event and 12 teams in each relay at the NCAA West Preliminary Round will qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 8-11 in Eugene, Oregon.

Follow our Instagram and Twitter page for live updates at @BadgerTrackXC

Here are the five events to watch:

1. 800-METER WINNER: Sophomore Abdullahi Hassan is the reigning Big Ten Conference champion in the 800 meters, finishing in 1 minute, 52.05 seconds. He is currently seeded 11th in the West with a season-test time of 1:47.66. In 2021, Hassan finished 12th in the 800 meters, earning second-team All-America honors. Hassan has a personal best time of 1:46.16 and represented Canada at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, winning bronze in the 800 meters in 1:46.89.

2. SPENCER AND SHARP ARE DOUBLE TROUBLE: Winning the Big Ten title in the 1,500 meters as a true freshman, Adam Spencer is seeded fourth in the West Preliminary Round, running a personal best time of 3:37.40. During the 2022 indoor season, he earned All-America honors as a member of the third-place distance medley relay. Fellow All-American and DMR member Jackson Sharp is also competing in the 1,500 meters, ranking 41st in 3:42.68. Sharp finished sixth in the event at the Big Ten championships.

3. DOIN' THE DASHES: Junior Lawrence Johnson competes in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash this weekend. The Waunakee native finished third in both races at the Big Ten Championships, running a personal best of 10.12 in the 100 meters and personal best in the 200 meters in 20.79. Johnson is ranked 10th in the 100 meters and 17th in the 200 meters. During the 2022 indoor season, Johnson earned All-America honors in the 60-meter dash, finishing third, and placed 19th in the 100 meters at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

4. DISTANCE EVENTS ARE LOADED: The Badgers send six athletes to compete in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters this week, with five athletes in the 5K. Grad student Olin Hacker won the Big Ten Championships in the 5,000 meters, crossing the line in 14:08.82. He ran a personal best of 13:19.34 this season, ranking him second in the West. Hacker finished third in the NCAA Indoor 3,000 meters and also qualified for the 5,000 meters in 2021. Hacker will be joined in the 5K with Charlie Wheeler, Evan Bishop, Rowen Ellenberg and Seth Hirsch.

Sophomore Bob Liking competes in the 10K on Thursday, ranking 47th in the preliminary round in 29:01.28. The 2021 Big Ten Cross Country champion has run only two 10K races on the track, placing third at the 2022 Big Ten Outdoor Championships.

5. THROWING FAVORITES: Redshirt sophomore Andrew Stone threw a school record of 65 feet, 6 1/4 inches in the shot put at the Wisconsin Classic, ranking him seventh in the NCAA West Preliminary round. He finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships in the event and also placed qualified for the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships in the shot put, where he placed ninth. Stone is also competing in the discus, where he ranks 47th with a personal best throw of 178-9. Redshirt sophomore Jason Swarens will also be competing in the shot put, where he is seeded 34th with a throw of 59-2 1/4. In the hammer, redshirt sophomore Cole Hooper is ranked 41sth with a eprsonal best throw of 205-5.