GENEVA, Ohio -- For the Wisconsin men's track and field team, the Badgers knew that they had a shot at winning the Big Ten Conference Indoor Championships. But the team needed things to go their way as well as get some help from some other teams.

Things worked out in the Badgers favor on Sunday as Wisconsin won the Big Ten title with 110 points, nine points ahead of second-place Nebraska. It was UW's first Big Ten indoor track championship since 2014 and Wisconsin's second Big Ten title of the season after winning the 2022 cross country championship last fall.

"This was a total team effort," said Mick Byrne, Director of Track & Field and Cross Country. "At our team meeting on Thursday night, we told the team we had huge momentum going into this weekend.

"We knew we had some big guns ranked No. 1 in their respective events but you don't win without a strong supporting cast who were also coming into the meet with very solid personal bests. Across the board our guys showed up. Each event group contributed to this win and I'm thrilled for our student-athletes and my coaching staff."

Johnson, Spencer, Sharp win Big Ten titles

The Badgers' title chances came down to the second-to-last event - the 3,000 meters - where they had five entries, including four who placed in Friday's 5,000 meters.

With three laps to go, four Badgers were part of a breakaway group of six with 5,000-meter champion Jackson Sharp in the lead. Indiana's Jake Gebhardt took the lead with two laps remaining but with approximately 200 meters left, Bob Liking and Sharp overtook Gebhardt to sit first and second. Sharp used his kick to move past his teammate over the final 100 meters, winning in 7 minutes, 51.53 seconds. Liking finished third in 7:41.82 while Rowen Ellenberg (7:59.40) and Evan Bishop (7:59.60) were fifth and sixth, respectively.

Wisconsin scored 24 points in the race to move from third place into the team lead by 15 points, a lead no other opponent could surpass.    

Johnson claimed his first Big Ten title, winning the 60-meter dash in 6.61 seconds. The Waunakee native entered the final with the fastest qualifying time and didn't disappoint as he won his first conference championship. The senior also finished seventh in the 200 meters in 21.29.

Spencer entered the finals of the mile with the fastest qualifying time. He was in second place with 300 meters to go and moved into first place with 200 meters remaining. Over the final 100 meters, Spencer outkicked Michigan's Nick Foster to win by half a second, crossing the finish line in 4:13.03.

Badgers score two in heptathlon

Wisconsin picked up two scorers in the heptathlon with both scoring personal bests. Senior Cade Amborn finished second with 5,818 points, an all-time improvement of 340 points, while redshirt sophomore Quinn Lansill placed seventh with 5,173 points, improving his previous best by more than 270 points.

Amborn recorded three individual event personal best marks on the final day of the seven-event challenge. He started the day with a personal best of 8.09 in the 60-meter hurdles to finish third. The Bangor, Wisconsin, native won the heptathlon pole vault with a personal best clearance of 16 feet, 3/4 inches before running a personal best time of 2:52.36 in the 1,000 meters.
 
Lansill's best finish of the day came in the 1,000 meters where he won in 2:41.35.

Other Big Ten scorers

Wisconsin also scored in three other events.

Redshirt junior Andrew Stone battled through injury to finish fourth in the shot put at 61-1 1/2.

Junior Abdullahi Hassan placed fifth in the 800 meters in 1:48.11.

Redshirt senior Colin Enz was forced to pull up in the final meters of the 400 meters with a leg injury but still managed to cross the finish line, scoring one point for eighth place.
 

Up Next

The Badgers send qualifiers to the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 10-11 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Qualifiers will be announced on Feb. 28.

Team scores
1. Wisconsin - 110
2. Nebraska - 101
3. Iowa - 97
4. Indiana - 78
5. Ohio State - 64.5
6. Michigan - 53
7. Penn State - 50
8. Purdue - 41
9. Michigan State - 39.5
10. Rutgers - 34.5
11. Illinois - 32.5

Mile
1. Adam Spencer - 4:13.03

400 meters
8. Colin Enz - 1:10.26

60 meters
1. Lawrence Johnson - 6.61

800 meters
5. Abdullahi Hassan - 1:48.11

Shot put
4. Andrew Stone - 61-1 1/2
9. Jason Swarens - 58-8 1/2

200 meters
7. Lawrence Johnson - 21.29

3000 meters
1. Jackson Sharp - 7:51.53
3. Bob Liking - 7:51.82
5. Rowen Ellenberg - 7:59.40
6. Evan Bishop - 7:59.60

Triple jump
12. Justin Kiefel - 48-5 1/2

4x400-meter relay
10. Williams, Wearing, Kiefel, Hatch - 3:40.70

Heptathlon
2. Cade Amborn - 5,818
7. Quinn Lansill - 5,173

Heptathlon 60-meter hurdles
3. Cade Amborn - 8.09
8. Quinn Lansill - 8.44

Heptathlon pole vault
1. Cade Amborn - 16-0 3/4
9. Quinn Lansill - 12-9 1/2

Heptathlon 1000 meters
1. Quinn Lansill - 2:41.35
11. Cade Amborn - 2:52.36