NCAA Bound: Swarens, Liking punch tickets to national championships

Photo by: Carol Chen

NCAA Bound: Swarens, Liking punch tickets to national championships

May 24, 2023 | Men's Track & Field

Spencer and Johnson advance to Friday quarterfinals

By: Londyn Butler

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The 23rd-ranked Wisconsin men's track and field team wrapped up day one of the NCAA West Preliminary Round at Hornet Stadium on Wednesday. Two Badgers advanced to the NCAA championship while three other athletes qualified for Friday's semifinals.

Liking, Swarens punch tickets to national meet

Junior Bob Liking qualified for his second NCAA Championships, finishing third in the 10,000 meters in the preliminary round. Liking, who ran among the top-10 athletes the entire race, was in fifth place with 800 meters to go. He moved up to third with one lap remaining, a position he held until the finish line, where he crossed in 28 minutes, 21.65 seconds.

Redshirt junior Jason Swarens booked his ticket to his first NCAA championship, finishing 10th in the shot put. The Terre Haute, Indiana, native qualified with his first toss of 64 feet, 2 1/4 inches in the preliminary round. Teammate Andrew Stone missed qualifying, taking 16th in the shot put with a throw of 62-1.

In Wednesday's other final, grad student Sam Coil finished 16th in the hammer throw with a toss of 217-8. Junior Cole Hooper finished 24th at 207-5.

Trio advances to Friday semifinals

Three Badgers advanced to Friday's semifinals in their respective events.

Sophomore Adam Spencer claimed his spot in the 1500-meter quarterfinals. He won his heat with a time of 3:40.66, finishing with the fourth fastest time in the prelims. The Australian was in second place with one lap to go, easily winning his heat by nearly half of a second.

Senior Lawrence Johnson finished second in his heat of the 100 meters to automaticlly qualify to Friday's quarterfinals. The Waunakee native crossed in 10.36, advancing with the 16th-fastest time.

Junior Abdullahi Hassan won his heat in the 800 meters, leading from start to finish, to advance to Friday's quarterfinals. The Canadian cruised to a time of 1:49.49, the 20th fastest qualifying time.

Up Next

The Badger women open their NCAA Preliminary Round competition on Thursday while the men return to action on Friday. Field events begin at 3 p.m. CT and running events start at 7 p.m. CT.

Wednesday Results

Finals
Shot put
10. Jason Swarens: 64-2 ¼
16. Andrew Stone: 62-1

Hammer
16. Sam Coil: 217-8
24. Cole Hooper: 207-5

Trials
1500 meters
4. Adam Spencer: 3:40.66

100 meters
16. Lawrence Johnson: 10.36

800 meters
22. Abdullahi Hassan: 1:49.49