In its second-to-last warm-up meet before the UAA indoor championships, Washington University’s track and field teams again found success, this time at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Open.

Upon arrival in Wisconsin, the Bears were in for a surprise. The meet was originally supposed to feature four teams. At the last minute, the format was changed to host many more teams, adding an element of stress to the day.

“The meet lasted 10 hours,” said senior Jeff Bayers. “We were run down. It was hard to prepare for, and we were out of our element.”

Despite the unexpected challenge, individual athletes thought the team did well.

“We competed against 20 other teams and rose to the challenge,” said freshman Emily McNish.

“We stepped up to the challenge,” added junior captain Aubrey Edwards. “This meet had number one athletes in the country, and we competed pretty well.”

Freshman Kelli Blake led the team, winning the mile run in a time of 5:10.73, just 1.73 seconds off the school record. Fresman Taryn Surtees and senior Lisa Sudmeier crossed the line just behind her, finishing second and third respectively.

Several other members of the Lady Bears also put in solid days. Senior Morgen Leonard-Fleckman finished second in the pole vault, clearing 3.66 meters. Junior Jessica Lane finished sixth in the same event. Senior Angela Hartman finished third in the 800-meter run in 2:21.12. Freshman Sangeeta Hardy followed her with a fifth-place finish. McNish also took home a third-place finish in the triple jump, leaping 10.49 meters.

Senior Abbey Hartmann came in third in the 3000-meter run in 10:35.85. Classmate Tyler Mulkin finished fifth in the 5000-meter run, completing the course in a time of 18:16.38. Junior Erika Wade also took fifth in the 400-meter dash in a time of 1:01.44 while Edwards took fifth in the weight throw with a toss of 14.8 meters.

On the men’s side, Bayers recorded a season high in the 5000-meter run with a time of 15:26.35. Freshman David Spandorfer also took third in the 3000-meter run in 8:56.06. Junior Nate Koslof finished fourth in the 400-meter dash in a time of 50.70. Senior Marcus Woods took sixth in the same event in a time of 51.09.

“It wasn’t a great performance. If we were at [the conference championships], we wouldn’t have done as well as we would have liked. We didn’t have everyone in top condition. We need to focus on making sure everyone is healthy,” stated Bayers.

With only one more meet before the UAA championships, the teams are well on their way to mental and physical preparation.

“The level of competition was significantly greater,” said McNish. “It gets us in the mindset.”

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