MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin men's track and field team is set for a busy weekend, spreading out across three meets: the Texas Invite, Penn Relays and Fighting Illini Twilight. The action begins Thursday April 24 and continues through Saturday, April 26 with events in Texas, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
1. DISTANCE DOMINANCE: After strong performances at the Bryan Clay Invitational, freshman
Christian de Vaal and redshirt senior
Rowen Ellenberg currently rank sixth and seventh in the Big Ten with times of 13 minutes, 39.10 seconds and 13:40.85 respectively.
Matan Ivri will continue the Badger rule of the 5000 meters this Thursday, joined alongside
Bob Liking,
Micah Wilson and
Johnny Livingstone. Ivri currently ranks first in the Big Ten after clocking 13:33.05 at the Stanford Invitational.
Bob Liking will be making his 5000 meter season debut; he currently ranks first in the Big Ten, 11th in the nation after his remarkable run of 27:55.50 at the Stanford Invitational. The 5000 meter race will commence at 8:00 p.m.
Bryce Stachewicz and
Pierce Seigne will return this weekend in the 1500 meter race, starting at 5:45 p.m on Thursday at the Penn Relays.
2. THROWING HEAT IN TEXAS: Some of the Badger's, and nation's, best will be on display at the Texas Invite. Senior
Jason Swarens, who holds the top Big Ten mark and second-best in the NCAA for shot put of 20.18m, headlines a stacked throws lineup that includes
Joseph White and
Andrew Stone. White and Stone take seventh and eighth in the Big Ten rankings, with throws of 18.72m and 18.56m. White will also compete in discus, where he ranks third in the Big Ten and 11th nationally with a throw of 58.76m. He will be joined by Jake Scaefer and
Andrew Stone, with the event set to begin at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Jacob Zednik is set to compete this weekend. The javelin athlete ranks sixth in the Big Ten, 14th in the nation with a throw of 69.25m.
Cole Hooper will compete in the hammer throw at 11:00 a.m. on Friday. Javelin is set to start at 12:00 p.m, followed by weight throw at 12:30 p.m.
3. PENN RELAY REWIND: At last year's Penn Relays, the 4xMile squad of
Andrew Casey,
Bryce Stachewicz,
Max Hartke and
Joe dosReis ran the third-fastest time in program history, clocking 16:18.64, taking sixth in the event.
4. HURDLES & HEIGHTS: At the Penn Relays, Gio Wearing, who currently ranks fifth in the Big Ten with a time of 13.67, will compete in the 110-meter hurdles. Meanwhile, at the Fighting Illini Twilight,
Quinn Lansill is set to compete in the javelin and discus, while
Hunter Cook takes on the pole vault on Saturday.
5. UP NEXT: The Badgers return home for their last home meet of the year, the Badger Challenge on Friday, May 2. Admission at the McClimon Track Complex is free. Events begin at 1:00 p.m.
