Sports
Track and field finish 2008 season strong
The Pointer
aschl336@uwsp.edu
Last weekend at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships in Eau Claire, the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point men’s track and field team finished strong in second place with 137.5 points. The women’s track and field team placed fifth out of nine teams at WIAC. Not only did the athletes from UW-SP shine, but UW-SP’s Coach Rick Witt was also named the WIAC Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year.
Kyle Steiner won the decathlon championship for the second consecutive year and also finished third in the high jump with a clearance of 1.94 meters.
“Winning this year was important to ending my conference career with a win. All in all it wasn’t important to me to win the decathlon; what was important was helping the team finish as high as possible in the team standings, and this year was the highest finish we have had while I’ve been at Point,” said Steiner.
Greg Haak won the 800- meter championship with a time of 1:56.40 seconds. “It feels really good to know that all the hard work I put in finally paid off. Also because there are a lot of outstanding 800 meter runners in the conference and just to beat them is accomplishment in itself no matter what track meet it’s at,” said Haak.
Also collecting a championship was the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 41.61 seconds. The 4x400-meter relay placed second with a time of 3:17.61 seconds. Keith Ingram won a conference championship in the long jump with a distance of 6.81 meters. Pat Leonard placed second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.89 seconds, and also finished third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.96 seconds. Nick VerDuin was named the Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete.
On the women’s side, Liz Caine won the 100-meter championship for the second straight year with a time of 12.24 seconds. “After crossing the finish line, I just had the biggest smile on my face and I was glad I had completed my goal,” Caine said.
She also finished second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.16 seconds. “I really surprised myself in the 200 by dropping a second off my time, breaking the school record and qualifying for nationals,” Caine added.
Kathleen Folbrecht finished second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.16 seconds. Also finishing second was Angela Steffens in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:15.26 seconds.
“This is my last year competing. These last four years have been quite the experience for me. I will miss the team, coaches and the competitive atmosphere created for athletes. I thank everyone involved in athletics, especially those involved with the track and field team,” said Folbrecht.
Both the 4x100 and the 4x400-meter relay teams finished second. Angela Sheridan finished fourth in the shot put, throwing a distance of 12.69 meters.
Coach Witt would like to thank the senior multi-time All Americans Kyle Steiner, Nick VerDuin and NCAA Qualifier Cory Baunmann.
“We also will be loosing six other seniors that have put their heart and soul into UW-SP track & field, and I would like to thank them all for their effort and commitment,” Coach Witt said. He would also like to thank everyone on the team for enduring a brutal outdoor season and his assistance coaches for their time and effort. “This award is really a reflection on the athletes and my assistant coaches. This award should really be called WIAC Coaching Staff of the Year,” said Witt.
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