Aimee Fornes

The UW-Eau Claire men and women’s track and field teams took first place Friday at the 2005 Blugold Open.

They competed against teams from Midwestern schools. It was the second meet of the season for both teams.

Several strong individual accomplishments rounded out Eau Claire’s victory at the Open. The men and women’s teams walked away with nine and five first-place finishes, respectively.

Senior John Schuna competed in the shotput and the 35-pound weight throw. Schuna said he performed well at the Open, and feels pretty good going into the season.

“I hope this will be the year,” he said.

Senior Adam Condit competed in the men’s 800 and 1500-meter events. He took first place in the 800-meter run, with a time of one minute, 59.54 seconds.

Condit said he was pleased with a first place finish in the 800.

For the women, several solid performances highlighted the team’s success at the Blugold Open.

Senior Jane-Marie Ovanin ran in the women’s 1500- and 3000-meter races. She came away with a win in the 1500.

Junior Stephanie Barnes took first place in the pole vault, the lone win for Eau Claire in women’s field events.

She set a school record by clearing a height of 11 feet, 2.25 inches. The feat qualified Barnes for the NCAA Div. III Championship. She was also named WIAC Athlete of the Week.

Barnes said the experience was exciting, although she felt she had left room for improvement.

“The height wasn’t what I wanted, but I’m happy with the way it turned out,” she said. “It was fun.”

The teams have many new faces this year. Both rosters sport a substantial number of freshmen and sophomores. However, Schuna said the amount of tough competitors on the team would only increase its chances for success.

“We’ve had trouble filling out our rosters in previous years,” he said.

Condit said while the team seems well-rounded and stronger than in previous years, the biggest obstacle facing them is the competition.

“Our conference is the best in the nation, for (Div.) III. La Crosse, for sure, Stevens Point, Whitewater, and Platteville,” Condit said. “It kind of gets discouraging running against the top.”

Ovanin agrees the competitive WIAC will also be a challenge for the women’s team.

“We always want to make a good showing at conference,” she said. “The top three is where you would like to be.”

This weekend, the women will face UW-Stout on Friday in Menomonie. The men will head south Saturday to compete against UW-Whitewater.