College Highlights (June 4)

UW-Eau Claire

Mitch Stegeman, a Suring High School graduate and current track and field athlete for UW-Eau Claire, earned a second-place finish in the men’s decathlon at the NCAA Division III 2021 Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which were held May 27-29 in Greensboro, North Carolina.Stegeman earned 6,952 points in the decathlon, only behind teammate Marcus Weaver (7,510).

Stegeman’s top finish came in the pole vault, where he placed first after clearing 4.9 meters. He claimed second in the discus (39.3 m) and third in the high jump (1.94 m).

Stegeman placed fifth in the 100-meter dash (11.2 seconds), sixth in the 400 (50.72), eighth in the long jump (6.56 m), 10th in the 110 hurdles (15.69), 12th in the 1,500 (4:56.73), 13th in the javelin (42.39 m) and 14th in the shot put (10.89 m).

“It was for sure the most rewarding thing I have ever done,” said Stegeman of his second-place finish. “We practice 5-6 days a week for 2-3 hours, plus lifting since COVID cancelled outdoor (season) last year.

“I came in seeded seventh and after a bad javelin (event nine) I thought I was going to finish about fourth. When I crossed the finish line after the 1,500 I looked up and saw my name in second and was immediately overwhelmed with emotion. All the hours of hard workouts were more than worth it. A decathlon is by far the most physically draining thing I’ve done, but also extremely rewarding.”

Winona State

Wittenberg-Birnamwood grad Maddy Pietz was on the 10th-place finishing 4x100 women’s relay team for Winona State University (Minnesota) at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which were conducted May 27-29 in Allendale, Michigan.

The relay team’s time of 46.94 seconds just missed out on qualifying the team for the finals. The ninth-place relay had a time of 46.66, while the first-place relay had a mark of 45.51 in the preliminary race.

Grand Valley State, who hosted the championships, ended up taking first in the finals with a time of 44.86.

UW-Madison

Shawano graduate Brandi Gueths helped the UW-Madison women’s rowing team to a 14th-place finish at the 2021 NCAA Rowing Championships, which were held May 28-30 in Sarasota, Florida.

Gueths and the varsity eight team capped the championships by placing 14th. The team took second in the C Final (for places 13-18) on May 30 with a time of 6:33.822.

On May 29, Gueths and the varsity eight took first place with a time of 6:26.975 in a C/D semifinal race.

Gueths and her team opened the championships May 28 with a third-place finish with a time of 6:26.986 in their heat. That afternoon, the varsity eight team placed third in 6:33.483 in a repechage race.