Talented men's field headlines 2016 Outdoor Track and Field Championships starting Friday
ST. PAUL, Minn.---After an exciting indoor season that saw countless conference records fall, the 2016 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships should be just as entertaining when it kicks off Friday at the University of Minnesota Morris in Morris, Minnesota.
The College of St. Scholastica will once again look to hold off the University of Wisconsin-Superior and Minnesota Morris – the Saints are pursuing their fifth-straight UMAC outdoor team title and sixth in program history.
Heading into the championships, the Saints and Yellowjackets will have plenty of names in the spotlight, while the Cougars and other UMAC squads will look to experienced athletes to snatch points from the frontrunners.
For the Saints, seniors Jeremy Peterson and Kevin Wagner return with NCAA success a year ago. Peterson – who was the UMAC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Meet last year – will look to defend his titles and meet records in the hammer throw, discus and shot put. Heading into the meet, Peterson ranks third in the nation in the hammer throw with a mark of 58.51 meters (191-11).
Peterson also leads the UMAC in the discus, but should be challenged in the shot put by Thomas Udenberg of Wisconsin-Superior. Udenberg ranks 17th in the nation with a mark of 16.17 meters (53-0.75) and set a new meet record for the shot at the indoor meet in March.
Wagner has emerged as one of the top all-around athletes in the nation over his four years and currently ranks sixth in the nation in the decathlon. The Saints’ senior will look to defend his titles in the 110-meter hurdles, the pole vault and the javelin.
Though Wagner has top times and marks in the hurdles (15.23) and long jump (6.76 meters/22-2.25), he trails behind Noah Potratz of Wisconsin-Superior in the javelin (50.86 meters/166-10). First-year Josiah Forker of the University of Northwestern-St. Paul also defeated Wagner in the pole vault at the indoor championships and could challenge for the outdoor crown.
Todd Brassow of Martin Luther College returns in the high jump after setting a meet record a year ago with a mark of 1.95 meters (6-4.75). The senior placed ninth at the NCAA Championships bettering his mark and currently ranks 15th nationally with a jump of 2.04 meters (6-8.25) this season. His all-time best mark is 2.08 meters (6-9.75).
Justin Terry of Minnesota Morris – who shared the 2015 Outdoor Tri-Athlete of the Meet Award with Wagner and Owen Richardson of Bethany Lutheran College – looks to cap off his career by repeating as champion in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash events. He leads all competitors with a time of of 10.75 – 25th fastest in the nation – in the 100-meter event and 21.87 in the 200-meter event.
The distance events should provide a ton of excitement as meet record-holder Chalmer Combellick of Minnesota Morris enters with the top times in the 800-meter (1:53.95) and 1,500-meter (3:50.90) runs. He will be challenged by Wisconsin-Superior’s Charles Corbett who ranks in the top 10 in Division III in the 10,000-meter run and set five UMAC indoor meet records in March. Corbett also leads the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:49.05 that is already faster than the current conference record.
Other notable names to look for include Northwestern’s Kyle Anenson and Wil Maki who will try to defend their titles in the 400-meter and 800-meter events, respectively. Anenson is currently second in the 400-meter dash behind Bethany Lutherany first-year Stefan Prince who boasts a time of 51.09. In the 400-meter hurdles, Anenson also has a shot at the title but is behind St. Scholastica first-year Kenneth Jinkins who has a time of 56.12.
Maki is second in the 800-meter run behind Combellick, but Luke McKenzie of St. Scholastica has an opportunity to challenge in both the 800-meter and 1,500-meter runs. Jackson Lindquist of Wisconsin-Superior also adds to the depth of the 1,500-meter run and leads the UMAC in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:20.68.
Devan Griffin of Minnesota Morris leads the triple jump with a mark of 12.87 meters (42-2.75). The first-year will look for a title in the event after winning the UMAC indoor crown in March.
Crown College and North Central University will also compete with athletes in multiple events.
The UMAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships are set to begin Friday with running and field events at 4 p.m. Day two of the championships are slated to start at 11 a.m. on Saturday. All meet information including ticket information, meet schedule, meet information and more can be found on the
UMAC championship site.
Live results and scoreboard will be provided by Hero’s Timing. Fans can also keep up with the meet app for smartphones available for download at
www.herostiming.com.
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2016 UMAC Championship site