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Issued: April 21, 2006

RUNNER-UP FINISH FOR MEN'S TRACK AT PHIL ESTEN CHALLENGE

LA CROSSE - The UW-Eau Claire men's track team took first or second in many individual events at La Crosse's Phil Esten Challenge, but ultimately could not top the home team overall.

The Eagles bested Eau Claire's 179 total with a winning 236.50 points. Wartburg College managed third at 146.50. UW-Stout's 103 points were good for fourth while St. Norbert College took the fifth and final spot with six points.

The La Crosse team took control of the track events, but the Blugolds did manage a few top placements. The most notable Eau Claire event was the 10,000-meter run where the Blugolds swept the medal stand. Ted Lillie (So.-North St. Paul, MN) had a 32:25.80 time to win it. Runner-up Jules Miller (So.-Green Bay/East) accomplished the grueling race in 32:28.70. Nate Hall (Sr.-Green Bay/Preble) and his 32:54.70 took third.

In the 200-meter dash, Nick Aliota (Jr.-Brookfield/Central) put forth a second place effort with a 22.43 race. Joey Veriga (Jr.-Cudahy) was second in the 800-meter run in 1:58.81.

The field side of things saw some Blugold action as well. Al Oleson (Jr.-Wausau/West) was the only Eau Claire field champion with a hammer throw of 52.36 meters (171'9"), an NCAA provisional qualifying distance.

There were more Blugolds in the runner-up slot. Brent Tice (Sr.-Colfax) had a 14.57 meter (47'93/4") shot put effort. Eric Eigenfeld (Jr.-DeForest) went 13.14 meters (43'11/2") in the triple jump and Andrew Kling (So.-Marshfield) leapt 1.80 meters (5'103/4") in the high jump.

Next weekend is a busy one for the team. The Drake Relays and Simpson Twilight are on Friday while Saturday contains day two of the Drake Relays. The Relays begin at 8:00 a.m. both days while the Simpson Twilight starts at 2:00 p.m.

Phil Esten Challenge Results

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