SUPERIOR, Wis. – The University of Minnesota Morris men’s track & field team finished in fourth place at the UMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. After racking up 39 points on the first day of the competition, the Cougars added 34 points on Saturday to finish with 73 for the two-day event.
UW-Superior won the men’s team title with 254 points. The University of Northwestern was second with 121 points and Bethany Lutheran College finished in third place with 93 points. Trailing behind Minnesota Morris in fifth place was Crown College with 59 points and North Central University in sixth place with 34 points.
Most of the heavy lifting for Minnesota Morris on Saturday came from the shot put, where four throwers accounted for 21 of the team’s 34 points. Cody Nye set a new PR in the event, rising to second all-time in program history after a toss of 49-11.75 (15.23 meters) to end in second place. Justin Robinson was third at 46-4.25 (14.13 meters) and Bryan Zepeda was fourth at 43-10.00 (13.36 meters). Benjamin Paulson was the final scorer in the event for UMN Morris, taking seventh with a distance of 39-9.25 (12.12 meters).
The remaining 13 points scored by Minnesota Morris on Saturday all came on the track. Grady Larsen had a fifth-place finish in the 3,000 Meters with a time of 9:38.56 and Joel Knopp was two spots back in seventh, finishing in 9:47.66. In the 800 Meters, Grant Strukel claimed sixth place with a time of 2:06.21. In the 4 x 400 Meter Relay, the Cougar team of Brevin O’Connor, Gregory Peterson, Strukel, and Rory Shackelford combined for a 3:52.89 finish that was good for fifth place.
While some members of the Cougars will now proceed onto the outdoor season which begins at the end of March, others will continue on in an effort to qualify for the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships. Those individuals will compete on March 4-5 at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa as they look to claim an NCAA bid.
