ROCHESTER, Mich. – Behind a pair of individual titles, the Milwaukee men's track and field team tallied its third consecutive runner-up finish at the Horizon League Outdoor Championships Sunday afternoon from the Elaine Leigh Track & Field Complex in Rochester, Mich.
Youngstown State claimed its fifth title in the past six championships, totaling 257 points. The Panthers held strong in second throughout the day and finished with 171 points. Host school Oakland placed third with 141.5 points.
"We got the second place on the men's side, which I was very proud of the guys for holding that spot," head coach
Andrew Basler said. "We kind of expected that but still happy with how they performed this weekend."
Caleb Rogalski posted a personal best in the hammer throw, tossing 56.28m to win the event.
Gracien Jules added points in the event, placing fourth at 52.04m.
Finnegan Shields narrowly missed being the third Panther to score, finishing ninth at 44.04m.
Golden Cotton was the Horizon League Champion in the 200m, running 21.77 seconds to top the field.
Michael Gorman took fifth at 22.07 seconds. In the 100m, Cotton tallied a third-place finish at 10.63 while Gorman was sixth with a time of 10.73 seconds.
Dane Nelson earned a pair of runner-up finishes in the hurdle events for Milwaukee. The sophomore started his afternoon by placing second in the 110m hurdles at 14.45 seconds and later crossed the line at 53.35 seconds in the 400m hurdles to earn silver.
Ben Marano finished right behind Nelson in the 400m hurdles, placing third with a strong time of 53.62 seconds.
Matthew Bye (15.63 seconds) and
Tony Bretall (16.51) placed seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 110m hurdles.
Two Panthers scored in the triple jump, led by a third-place finish by
Obi Iwuagwu with a leap of 14.53m.
Will Mortimer jumped 14.03m for sixth.
Trevor Wenzel ran a solid 5000m, posting a time of 14:45.83 to finish third overall.
Hunter Krepline took fifth in the 800m at 1:55.74.
Luke Rapisarda scored in the 400m, running 50.33 seconds, and finishing seventh overall.
The Milwaukee 4x400 relay team of Rapisarda, Marano, Nelson, and
Caleb Anderson took home third, running 3:16.87. In the 4x100, the Panthers ran 42.29 seconds as Rapisarda,
Anthony Kessler, Gorman, and Cotton placed fourth.
"I told the team at the end to remember the feeling of not being that top team on the podium," Basler said. "We got to use that as motivation this summer. If they want to come back better than when they left that's the only way we can expect improvements to happen. I challenged the team with that after the meet."
The NCAA West Regionals are scheduled to run Wednesday, May 25 through Saturday, May 28 for selected athletes in Fayetteville, Ark. Milwaukee will look to improve upon its marks heading into next weekend at a last chance meet.
