MARIETTA, Ohio - UW-Eau Claire men's field athlete Sam Johnson (Sr.-Deer Park, Wis./Amery) recorded a fourth place finish in the hammer throw on the opening day of the 2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championship at Marietta College today.

Johnson, who won the national title in the weight throw during the indoor championship, secured his All-American finish today with a toss of 55.17 meters (181).

Also competing today was the 4x400-meter relay team of Tim Braunschweig (Jr.-Mukwonago, Wis.), Chris Kupfer (Sr.-Germantown, Wis.), Josh Prince (Fr.-Chippewa Falls, Wis.) and Patrick Mackin (Fr.-Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame Academy). Out of 15 relay teams, the Blugolds were one of eight to qualify for the finals after finishing with a time of 3:14.39 in preliminaries. The 4x400 finals will be contested at 4:45 p.m. (EDT) Saturday.

Tomorrow the Blugolds will compete in two more events. Wes Fischer (Jr.-Rosemount, Minn.) will compete in preliminaries of the 800-meter run while Chris Wirtz (Jr.-Weston, Wis./D.C. Everest) will be in the final of the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Championship Results

Championship Website

- KM -