Badgers set to host first home meet of outdoor campaign

Friday, May 2

Madison, Wis.

1:00 PM

Wisconsin Badgers

Badger Challenge

Photo by: AJ Harrison

Badgers set to host first home meet of outdoor campaign

April 28, 2025 | Women's Track & Field

UW welcomes regional competition to McClimon Track Complex

By: Maddox Durst

MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin women's track and field program gets set to host its lone home meet of the outdoor season, as UW will compete in the annual Badger Challenge at McClimon Track Complex on Friday, May 2.

The meet is set to start at 1:00 p.m. CT with throwing events, while running events will begin at 3:15 p.m. CT. UW is set to compete against Marquette, Milwaukee, Loras, Valparaiso and Northwestern's women's team.

Wisconsin's seniors will be honored at 4:55 p.m. CT, as fans looking to attend the meet in-person can find more information on Friday's competition, here.

1. LAST TIME OUT: The Badgers wrapped up one of their busiest weekends of the year with four separate meets from around the country—showing well at each site. Shaina Zinter kicked it off in the heptathlon at the Drake Relays, finishing in second in the field and first amongst collegiate competitors. Zonica Lindeque followed it up with a pair of personal bests out at the Texas Invitational, advancing to No. 7 all-time in UW's Outdoor Track history in both the discus and the shot put. In Philadelphia, Wisconsin performed well in each of their relays—earning top-10 marks in both the 4x1500 meter relay and the distance medley relay. UW completed the weekend at the Fighting Illini Twilight, where Sydney Robinson was the standout with a pair of top-5 finishes in sprinting events.

2. RELAY RECORDS: As mentioned previously, the Badgers entered the top-10 all-time in both the 4x1500 meter relay and the DMR at the Penn Relays—continuing to excel on one of the biggest stages in the outdoor track & field regular season campaign. Emma Kelley, Emma Kruse, Mya Bunke and Leané Willemse kicked things off in the DMR with a time of 11 minutes, 16.40 seconds, good for 10th all-time. Kylie Finger then joined Kelley, Bunke and Willemse in the 4x1500 meter relay, turning in a time of 17:26.83. That mark earned them the third-quickest time in UW's history and was the fourth time in the last four seasons that the Badgers relay team has run a top-5 time in school history.

3. BADGER CHALLENGE HISTORY: Wisconsin enjoyed success in last season's Badger Challenge, looking to maintain that momentum ahead of Friday's meet. Finger, Taylor Kesner, Elissa Perkins, Karina Janik and Zaira Malloy-Salgado all earned first place in their respective events. Perkins tallied a personal best in the triple jump—leaping 40-7 ½ (12.38m), a mark that still stands today.

4. A LOOK AHEAD TO REGIONALS: After a lengthy outdoor season, the Badgers are set to take on the postseason in just a couple of weeks. Once the Big Ten Championships conclude, Wisconsin will look ahead to the NCAA Outdoor First Round in College Station, Texas between Wednesday, May 28 and Saturday, May 31. To qualify, individual Badgers will need to be in the top-48 of the regional in their events.

5. UP NEXT: The Badgers will wrap up the regular season with one final meet, as they will head south to compete at the Augustana Penultimate Qualifier on Friday, May 9 at 2:00 p.m. CT. A week later, they will prepare for their biggest meet to date, returning to the west coast to take on the Big Ten Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. The championships will take place from Friday, May 16 to Sunday, May 18.