Wisconsin Badgers
Cal State LA Twilight Open
Five events to watch: Badgers to compete in five meets
April 11, 2023 | Men's Track & Field
Wisconsin heads to California for busy weekend
MADISON, Wis.- The Wisconsin men's track and field team travels to California this week to compete in five meets in a variety of cities near Los Angeles.
The Badgers open the week with the hammer throwers competing at the Cal State LA Twilight on Wednesday. On Thursday, UW competes at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate in Long Beach while decathlon day one at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa kicks off. The Bryan Clay Invitational continues through Friday and Saturday while the Beach Invitational runs from Friday-Saturday. On Saturday, select Badgers compete at the Mt. SAC Relays in Torrance.
You can follow along for live updates @Badgertrackxc and for live results at Cal StateLA Twilight, Mt. SAC, Bryan Clay Invitational, Pacific Coast Intercollegiate, and Beach Invitational.
Here are the five events to watch:
1. POWER THROWERS: Grad student Sam Coil threw a personal best in the weight throw this season with a toss of 206-5. Coil is now ranked 10th in the Big Ten this season and sixth all-time at UW looking to move up this weekend. Cole Hooper is ranked 13th in the hammer in the Big Ten and seventh at UW. The duo will be joined by Nick Tomasovic and Jake Schaefer in the hammer. Competing in the shot put and discus is redshirt junior Jason Swarens, who is ranked sixth in the shot put in the Big Ten this season and eighth all-time at UW. Swarens will be joined by Andrew Stone in both events this weekend. Stone is the outdoor record holder in the shot put at UW with a throw of 65-6 ¼. All throwers will be competing up to four times this week.
2. MIDDLE DISTANCE MADNESS: Australia native Adam Spencer is set to compete in the men's 1500-meter run at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Spencer was the 2022 Big Ten 1500 meters champion and is currently ranked fourth all-time at UW with a best time of 3:37.40. Toronto native Abdullahi Hassan, last year's Big Ten outdoor champ in the 800 meters, will also compete at Bryan Clay. Hassan is ranked third all-time at UW with a personal best time of 1:46.16 and is also entered in the 1500 meters. Grad student Ben Nibbelink will also have a chance to compete in the 1500-meter run and 3,000-meter steeplechase this weekend.
3. POWER FOUR: Leading the Big Ten this season and ranking sixth in the nation in the 10,000 meters is junior Bob Liking. Liking ran a personal best of 28:00.77 earlier this season, which ranks him second all-time at UW. He is set to make his outdoor debut in the 5,000 meters along with teammates Rowen Ellenberg, Jack Meijer and Jackson Sharp. Meijer is third in the Big Ten this season in the 5,000-meter run, running a personal best of 13:51.61 at the Stanford Invitational earlier this month, while Ellenberg is ranked seventh in the 5,000 meters in the Big Ten this season.
4. QUICK DASH: 2022 indoor Big Ten champ in the 60 meters, Lawrence Johnson is set to make his outdoor debut in the 100 meters. He is scheduled to compete at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate on Thursday and Mt. SAC Relays on Saturday. Last year, Johnson set the school record in the 100 meters in 10.08. Freshman Giovanni Wearing is set to compete in his first outdoor season in the 110-meter hurdles after running a personal best time of 7.90 in the 60-meter hurdles indoors, which ranks sixth all-time at UW. Freshman Jalen Williams will be running the 200 meters and 400 meters this weekend. Johnson, Wearing and Williams will also team with Colin Enz, Elliott Harris, and Robbie Hatch in the 4x100-meter relay and 4x400-meter relay this weekend.
5. JUMPIN' JUMPS: Competing in the men's long jump and triple jump is Badger Justin Kiefel. Kiefel is ranked sixth in the long jump in the Big Ten this season, looking to improve this week. Kiefel set a personal record in the long jump with a clearance of 23-8 ¾.
Players Mentioned
