Track Defeats UW-Milwaukee In Rare Dual Meet Action

April 10, 2009

MILWAUKEE-- The Marquette University track and field squad defeated their counterparts from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a rare dual meet Friday afternoon at the Melvin "Bus" Shimek Memorial Track and Field Facility at Valley Fields. The women captured a 104-83 victory, while the men came out victorious by a margin of 99-89.

"Coming out our goal was to win the meet with performances secondary," said head coach Bert Rogers. "We were very happy with how things unfolded this afternoon with some terrific marks. It was a great atmosphere with a lot of cheering and emotional energy. I would deem this meet a success and we were very happy to win."

On the afternoon, the Golden Eagles recorded 18 event victories and two new BIG EAST Championships qualifying marks.

Senior Jessica Ehlen recorded an NCAA Regional qualifying mark in the hammer throw with a distance of 56.22 meters to win the event. Ehlen also won the discus, finishing just ahead of Audra Ketelsen.

Olivia Johnson (2:20.02) won the 800 meters by four-hundreths of a second over second place finisher Katlin Millin (2:20.04).

Jayne Grebinski captured the victory in the 1,500-meter run and took second in the 3,000 meters behind Amanda Beggs.

BIG EAST qualifier Erynn James won the high jump, while Marissa Handley took second in the event.

Kelly Magennis took first in the javelin and recorded a BIG EAST qualifying distance with a throw of 42.22 meters. Catherine Benage and Ketelsen finished second and third, respectively.

On the men's side, sophomore Tyler O'Brien beat out his competitors to claim the title as the "Fastest Man in Milwaukee" in the 100-meter dash and took second in the 200.

Eric Meissner won the 800, while Peter Bolgert placed second.

In the 1,500-meter run, senior Scott Mueller edged out freshman Blake Johnson to win the event by one-hundreths of a second. Mueller crossed the finish line in 4:10.27, while Johnson finished in 4:10.28. Muller and Johnson also finished 1-2 in the 3,000.

Sophomore Jonathan Kusowski, throwing the javelin for the first time ever, captured a victory in the event with a distance good for ninth place in the MU record books. Kusowski also put his name in the top-10 list for the hammer throw, at eighth all time, after he finished second behind senior Jeff Kluge, who also captured a victory in the discus.

Freshman David Carbajal also recorded a BIG EAST qualifying distance in the shot put.

The Golden Eagles will return to action Friday and Saturday at the John McDonnell Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., which will also serve as the site of the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships.