DULUTH, Minn. (May 6, 2008) – The Northwestern men’s track and field team won their third Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) title in the past four years, combining for 192 points to best the University of Minnesota-Morris’ 183 points.
The Eagle men claimed seven individual champions and the 4x100 relay titles to go with 11 All-Conference awards in the five-team meet.
Highlights included:
Kyle Thomforde (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) was the champion in both the 100 meter and 200 meter races, setting a meet record of 22.71 in the 200, which was previously held by Northwestern’s Nate Gilkerson.
Dave Tillman (Coon Rapids, Minn./Concordia Academy) won both the shot put (41-1.75) and discus throws (109-6), while placing third in the hammer throw.
Brandon Johnson (Plymouth, Minn./Armstrong) set both the meet and school records by winning the pole vault with a height of 14-1 ¼. Luke Grothe (Mendota Heights, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) placed third in the event to garner some significant points for Northwestern’s squad.
Joel Groten (Spring Valley, Minn./Kingsland) led from start to finish in the 1500 meter race, and paced the Eagles to a 1-2-3 finish with Lloyd Gbahtuo (New Brighton, Minn./St. Anthony) and Jake Rippelmeyer (Burnsville, Minn./Homeschool) placing second and third.
Levi Budd (Albert Lea, Minn./Albert Lea) worked his way through the 3000 meter steeple chase fieldl to claim the individual win, crossing the finish line in a personal best time of 10:44.34.
Adam Barlow (Choteau, Mont./Choteau), Michael Copeland (Grantsville, Utah/Grantsville), Rico Roddy (Robbinsdale, Minn./Spring Lake Park) and Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) teamed up to win the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 44.34.
Rippelmeyer and Gbahtuo each received All-Conference honors by earning 16 or more team points. Rippelmeyer placed third in the 5000, third in the 1500 and second on the 4x800 relay team. Gbahtuo earned second in the 1500 and 4x800 relay and placed third in the 800 and 4x400 relay.
In addition to the 1500 meter sweep, the Eagles swept the 100 and 200 meter sprints. Thomforde (11.39) was followed by Lecheler (11.52) and Copeland (11.56) in the 100 meter dash. The 200 meter dash was another solid 1-2-3 for NWC with Thomforde (22.71), Cody Crum (Rushville, Ill./Rushville) (22.76) and Lecheler (23.11) all establishing season-best marks in the event.
Men’s team scores:
192 - Northwestern
183 - Minnesota-Morris
161 - St. Scholastica
66 - Martin Luther
9 - Crown