Jan. 15, 2010
MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin men’s and women’s track and field teams kick off the 2010 indoor season this weekend by playing host to the Badger Quad, a four-team scored meet, at the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center.
The meet pits the Badgers against in-state rivals Marquette and Milwaukee, along with SIU-Edwardsville, in a head-to-head competition.
The men’s and women’s pentathlon competitions begin at 1:45 p.m. Friday. A two-hour, all-finals session of track events highlights Saturday’s slate, beginning at 1:15 p.m.
The UW women welcome an experienced roster back for 2010, including 2009 NCAA pentathlon qualifier Dorcas Akinniyi and a trio of seniors who are Big Ten title contenders in their field events: Megan Seidl (high jump), Jenny Soceka (pole vault) and Chavon Robinson (long jump, triple jump).
The No. 24-ranked Badger men feature a roster that includes veterans Craig Miller — 2009 NCAA runner-up in the mile — and fellow seniors Jack Bolas (mile) and Nate Larkin (60-meter hurdles). UW also welcomes a talented class of freshman that was recently ranked as the nation’s No. 5 recruiting class by Track & Field News.
The Badger men will compete an impressive group in Friday’s men’s pentathlon, with sophomore David Grzesiak, sophomore Ian Jansen, junior Derek Steinbach and senior Seth Pelock all slated to take part.
On Saturday, redshirt freshman Paul Annear makes his official Badgers debut in the high jump, with a number of true freshmen also kicking off their UW careers. Newcomers Zach Mellon and Drew Shields will run the mile, while Gavin Robertson will compete in both the 60 meters and 200 meters.
Casey Dehn, who also plays football for the Badgers and has two siblings on the UW track and field teams, will make his debut in the shot put and weight throw.
The Badgers also welcome back Rayme Mackinson, the 2009 Big Ten indoor long jump champion who missed the outdoor season due to injury, as well as injured sprinter Andrew Milenkovski.
On the women’s side, sophomore Dorcas Akinniyi returns to competition after redshirting the 2009 outdoor season. She was an NCAA qualifier in the pentathlon as a freshman and will ease into the new year by competing in the high jump, 60-meter hurdles and 200 meters.
Also returning to action is the senior trio that redshirted in 2009: Robinson (long jump, triple jump), Seidl (high jump) and Soceka (pole vault). Another senior, Amanda Hoeppner, also returns after being sidelined last season due to injury and will compete in the shot put and weight throw – an event in which she holds UW’s school record.
Among the newcomers making their collegiate debuts on Saturday are freshmen throwers Jasmine Boyer and Taylor Smith and sprinters Jameice DeCoster and Carrie Edmonds.
The Badger Quad is the first of three-consecutive home meets the Badgers will host in The Shell, with the Badger Track Classic, an open event, following on Jan. 23. The annual Wisconsin Elite Invitational – which will be a scored competition that also includes strong competition from Purdue and Indiana State – is set for Jan. 29-30.
