OSHKOSH, Wis. - Sam Johnson (Sr.-Deer Park, Wis./Amery) earned a conference title to lead the UW-Eau Claire men's track and field team on day one of the 2009 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium today.

The Blugolds are currently in fourth place with 37 points while UW-Whitewater leads with 56.5. UW-La Crosse is in second with 50.5 and UW-Stevens Point scored 45 points for a third place spot.

Johnson picked up a first place finish in the hammer throw with a distance of 56.79 meters (186-4). His toss was more than five feet further than the rest of the field and was the best in the conference and second best in all of NCAA Division III this season.

Also in finals, Grant Haugan (Jr.-Green Bay, Wis./Ashwaubenon) took third in the long jump with a leap of 6.73 meters (22-1) while the 4x800-meter relay team also finished third with a time of 7:49.36.

In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Chris Wirtz (Jr.-Weston, Wis./D.C. Everest) finished fourth with a time of 9:27.28 while Max Renner (Jr.-Green Bay, Wis./East) was fifth in the event with a time of 9:35.53.

In preliminaries, Chris Kupfer (Sr.-Germantown, Wis.) had the best finish of the day as he won his heat with a time of 49.80, the second best mark of the day.

Tomorrow the Blugolds will wrap up competition at the WIAC Championship. Events will get underway at 10 a.m.

Day One Results

Championship Website

- KM -