Issued: April 24, 2003

MEN'S TRACK TO COMPETE IN THE "OTHER" IOWA MEET

INDIANOLA, IA - The UW-Eau Claire men's track and field team are set for a busy weekend in Iowa as they will compete in the Simpson Twilight Open held at Bill Buxton Stadium.

While most of the attention will be the Drake Relays this weekend (of which the Blugolds have three entries including 2002 Division III shot put champion John Schuna), Simpson will hosts its annual Twilight Open meet Friday night. A record 1,067 entries have been received for the event. There are 28 teams from all over the nation will be competing at the Twilight Open.

Topping the list of men's entries is 17-time NCAA Division III National Champion UW-La Crosse while the women's field is highlighted by 2002 NCAA Division II National Champion North Dakota State. The unattached field is quite deep. Danny Tutskey, who finished second at last year's outdoor nationals in the 100-meter for UW-La Crosse, ran a time of 10:31 last spring at the Simpson Twilight and competed in the USATF Nationals.

Simpson head men's and women's track coach Tim Byers is very excited for this weekend. "Overall it should be a very competitive meet," Byers commented. "Just because you do not make it into Drake does not mean you can not compete in a great meet! A lot of these athletes will compete at both Drake and Simpson."