MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's track & field team turned in their best finish at the UMAC Outdoor Championships since 2018, finishing alone in third place.
The University of Wisconsin-Superior won the team title with 248.5 points. Martin Luther College was in second with 182.5 points. The Cougars were behind in third place with 96 points. Rounding out the team standings were Bethany Lutheran College in fourth (89.5), the University of Northwestern in fifth (69.5), North Central University in sixth (60), and Crown College in seventh (31).
It was a busy day on the track for the Cougars. The best individual finish in a running event for Minnesota Morris came from
Gregory Peterson in the 5,000 Meter Run with a time of 16:57.59 to place third.
Grady Larsen was fifth in the same event with a time of 17:09.21.
In the 1,500 Meter Run,
Rory Shackelford came in fifth with a time of 4:28.52, while
Joel Knopp was seventh in 4:30.08.
In the two hurdles races, Minnesota Morris had a pair of sixth-place finishes. After qualifying for the final yesterday in the 110 Meter Hurdles,
Conrad Barrozo ran a time of 16.53 seconds. In the 400 Meter Hurdles,
Joshua Welch submitted a time of 1:03.20.
The Cougars also took part in two relays on Saturday. In the 4 x 100 Meter Relay, Welch, Barrozo, Shackelford, and
Duncan Vandergon came in sixth in 47.55 seconds. In the 4 x 400 Meter Relay, Vandergon,
Luke Petersen,
Calvin Nelson, and
Bryan Zepeda combined to finish sixth in 3:48.30.
Minnesota Morris ended with nine point-scoring performances from two throwing events on Saturday.
Cody Nye was the runner-up in the shot put with a distance of 49-7.00 (15.11 meters). Other scorers in the shot put were Zepeda in sixth at 44-0.75 (13.43 meters),
Justin Robinson in seventh at 42-6.00 (12.95 meters), and
Landon Wagner in eighth at 41-11.50 (12.79 meters).
The Cougars also had five of the top eight in the discus. Robinson was fourth with a toss of 123-3 (37.56 meters), Petersen was fifth at 121-9 (37.11 meters), Ben Paulson was sixth at 119-4 (36.37 meters), Zepeda was seventh at 119-1 (36.31 meters), and Nye was eight at 117-9 (35.90 meters).
Minnesota Morris will continue its season on May 13 with select individuals competing in the Eagle Open at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
