MORRIS, Minn.- The University of Northwestern Men's Track and Field Team is in Morris, Minnesota competing in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference 2024 Outdoor Track and Field Championships this weekend. The championship meet is a two day event; starting on Friday, May 3^rd and concluding on Saturday, May 4^th.
 
Day One
 
The UMAC scored nine events on the opening day of competition on Friday and after one day of competition, the Eagles are currently in seventh place in the team standings. Wisconsin-Superior is currently in first place in the competition to be named UMAC Men's Track and Field Champions.
 
The nine events that were scored (and held their finals) on Friday were the Hammer Throw, Javelin Throw, Pole Vault, Long Jump,  3,000M Steeplechase, 800M Dash, 400M Hurdles, 200M Dash, and 4x800M Relay.
 
A trio of Eagle sprinters represented Northwestern in the 200M Dash, John Shevchuk (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) finished in 13^th place overall with a time of 23.87 seconds. Will Dorch () also cracked the top 20 with a time of 24.08 seconds. Ashton Lofton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Colorado Springs Christian) rounded things out for the Eagles in the event at 25.90 seconds.
 
A different trio wore the purple and gold jerseys in the 800M Run. Nathan Eikom (Eagan, Minn./Homeschool)  was the Eagles' top finisher in the 800M at 2:08.31 which landed him in 12^th place overall. Eikom picked a good time for his career performance in the 800M, turning in a PR at the UMAC Championships. John Thomas III (St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo)  can't stop turning in PRs in the 800M this week. He shattered his previous PR at the Joe Sweeney Invitational this past Wednesday and he turned in a PR in the 800M for the second time this week. He finished in 15^th place overall at 2:13.79. Owen Van De Riet (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) completed the trifecta for UNW as all three 800M runners turned in PRs. Van De Riet finished at 2:21.78.
 
Jah'Kiing Joseph (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Heritage), a freshman, picked up a bronze finish in his first ever day of competition at the UMAC Outdoor Championships. Joseph finished in 3^rd place in the Long Jump at 6.36m which was just .04m behind the individual winner. 6.36m was .02m enough to give Joseph a PR in the event.
 
The Eagles will finish out the UMAC Championships in Morris tomorrow.
 
Day Two
 
After competing in the Long Jump on Friday, Jah'Kiing Joseph (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Heritage) ran in a pair of sprinting events on day two. Joseph picked up two top ten finishes on Saturday. Joseph finished with a time of 12.83 seconds for an eighth place finish in the 100M Dash. He landed in 10^th place overall in the 400M Dash at 52.69 seconds.
 
John Thomas III (St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo), who put up a PR in the 800M on the opening day of competition, turned in another PR in Saturday's finale. This time, it was the 400M Dash. Thomas III's previous PR was 59.54 seconds and on Saturday he turned in a time of 59.25 seconds. He didn't stop there. Thomas III showed his versatility by transitioning from the 400M to the 1500M Run. His time of 4:45.93 was his third PR of the championship weekend.
 
Nathan Eikom (Eagan, Minn./Homeschool) and Joshua Ringsmuth (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) also competed in the 1500M and he each represented Northwestern in the top 15. Eikom's time of 4:36.53 was good enough for 13^th place and Ringsmuth was in 15^th place at 4:38.01.
 
Another long distance event that took place on Saturday was the 5000M run. Owen Van De Riet (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) led the way for the Eagles in this event, coming close to breaking that 18 minute mark. He finished in 14^th place at 18:12.16. John Thomas III (St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo), who really did it all on Saturday, crossed the finish line at 19:36.03.
 
The last two events for the Eagles were a pair of relay races. The Eagles' 4x100M Relay Team of Will Dorch (), Jah'Kiing Joseph (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Heritage), Ashton Lofton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Colorado Springs Christian), and John Shevchuk (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) finished in 5^th place at 45.16 seconds. The team of Ringsmuth, Dorch, Eikom, and Joseph had a season best time of 3:48.53 in the 4x400M.
 
Northwestern finished in seventh place overall in the team standings. Wisconsin-Superior was crowned the 2024 UMAC Men's Outdoor Track and Field Conference Champions.
 
Saturday officially concludes another installment of the UMAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. However, there is no reason to be gloomy. UNW Track and Field is not going into a slumber over the summer just yet. A handful of Eagles have qualified and will compete as individuals at the NCCAA National Championships starting on Wednesday, May 8^th and concluding on Saturday, May 11^th. The National Championships are held in Columbia, South Carolina.