Wisconsin-Superior holds sizable lead after day one of UMAC Men's Indoor Championships
DULUTH, Minn.---Heading into the 2017 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships, only one team had ever captured a team title in the meet. The College of St. Scholastica has reigned supreme, but after day one it appears there could be a new team champion crowned as the University of Wisconsin-Superior leads by 76.5 points following Friday's events at St. Scholastica.
The Yellowjackets boast a score of 116.5 points to lead the field, while the University of Minnesota Morris is second with 40 points and St. Scholastica sits third with 38 points. Wisconsin-Superior was able to build their lead thanks to several impressive individual performances Friday.
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Day One Results |
The top highlight came in the men's 400-meter dash as Alexander Fathie of the University of Wisconsin-Superior broke a six-year-old conference record. The senior sprinter clocked a time of 51.01 that bettered the previous-best time of 51.48.
Wisconsin-Superior repeated as conference champion in the 4 x 200-meter relay with a time of 1:34.20 that was just off its winning time a year ago, but lost out on the distance medley relay as Minnesota Morris won with a time of 10:47.4.
With the graduation of several champions from a year ago, there was room for new individuals to take over and work toward earning a UMAC title. One of those individuals was C.J. Pillath of Wisconsin-Superior who has had a standout sophomore year in th weight throw so far. Pillath finished with the day's best mark of 16.32 meters (53-6.5).
St. Scholastica distance star Jacob Gallagher also reaped the benefits and scored a first-place finish that was over 28 seconds faster than the next finisher in the 5,000-meter run. The senior crossed the line in 15:27.67 to earn his first UMAC individaul championship.
Also a beneficiary of those lost from a year ago was Noah Larson of Bethany Lutheran College. The sophomore captured an event win for the Vikings in the high jump with the day's best mark of 1.90 meters (6-2.75).
Alex Dzikonksi added to the Yellowjackets' team point total when he captured the conference crown in the men's long jump to cap off the night. He recorded a jump of 6.35 meters (20-10) that was just one inch better than the next competitor.
Justin Terry of the University of Minnesota Morris won the prelims in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.06 and will look to repeat as conference champion in the event final Saturday.
In addition to the top three team scores, Bethany Lutheran sits in fourth with 32 points, while Crown College has 15 points for fifth and the University of Northwestern has 14.5 points for sixth.
Day two of the championships are slated to start at 12 p.m. on Saturday. All meet information including ticket information, meet schedule, meet information and more can be found on the
UMAC championship site.
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2017 UMAC Championship site