MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men's track and field team competes in two meets this weekend: the Solomon Butler Classic in Dubuque, Iowa, on Friday, Feb. 16 and the Alex Wilson Invite at Notre Dame on Feb. 17. The two meets will be the last before the indoor Big Ten Championship on Feb. 23 and Feb. 24. The Badgers will send select sprinters, distance and hurdlers to South Bend while throwers will compete in Dubuque.
Fans can watch the Solomon Butler Classic live here or follow the action on Twitter and Instagram @BadgerTrackXC and can find a recap following the meet at UWBadgers.com.
1. THROWERS ON CENTER STAGE: The throwers return to center stage after an impressive weekend in Chicago. Jason Swarens moved up to No. 2 on the UW top 10 list in the shot put Saturday with a throw of 65 feet, 4 3 /4 inches (19.93m). His mark is the second-best in Division I this season and the best in the Big Ten. Swarens will also compete in the weight throw, where he finished fourth last weekend with a distance of 69-2 ½ (21.09m). Aside from Swarens, Andrew Stone will compete in the shot put. Stone holds the third-farthest throw in school history. Jacob Bugella also returns to the weight throw after earning No. 9 on the UW top 10 list in the event two weekends ago in Michigan.
2. THE DMR RETURNS: The distance medley relay returns for a group looking to ascend to the top after finishing third at NCAA Championships the past two seasons. Last season's relay team returns three of four key pieces, including school record holders Jackson Sharp and Abdullahi Hassan, and sprint specialist Jalen Williams. Hassan recently broke the school record in the 800 meters, a key leg in the DMR, in 1 minute, 46.61 seconds at last weekend's Windy City Invitational.
3. MAJORING IN THE MILE: The Badgers entered six athletes in the mile. Joe dosReis comes in with a personal best of 3:58.34 that he set while at Davidson. dosReis looks to become the 12th UW athlete to run a sub-4 minute mile. He joins Hassan, Pierce Seigne, Benjamin Nibbelink, Rowen Ellenberg and Nick Hrusckoci. dosReis and Seigne finished top 10 in the mile last weekend, while Nibbelink set a personal best in the 3000 meters at 7:58.10.
4. LEAPS AND BOUNDS: Jumper Justin Kiefel returns to the sand for his fifth meet of the season. He finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 22-10 ½ (6.55m) and sixth in the triple jump with a measure of 47-10 ½ (14.47m) at the Windy City Invitational. Kiefel won the triple jump at the Jimmy Grant Invite back in December.
5. UP NEXT: The Badgers travel to Geneva, Ohio, for the indoor Big Ten Championships starting Feb. 23. UW took home the title last year for what was the first time since 2014. The group has already won one Big Ten Title this year, as Wisconsin captured its sixth straight cross country Big Ten Championship in October.
