Final Results (M/W)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. –The University of Evansville track and field teams broke both distance medley relay records on Friday, and the Purple Aces set eight individual personal-best marks, as UE competed in the Bellarmine Open presented by Urban Shipper at the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

The men's distance medley relay team of freshman Adam Oulgout (St. Paul, Minn./Central), sophomore Peter Epur (Eldoret, Kenya), graduate student J.J. Pedersen (Milford, Conn./Platt Tech) and junior Jackson Maurer (Evansville, Ind./Gibson Southern) opened the track portion of the meet for UE by breaking a 40-year-old record in the event with a time of 10:44.40.  The previous mark was 10:50.82 and was set in 1982.

The women's DMR team of seniors Sam Weldon (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger) and Haley Dean (Lacombe, La./Lakeshore), freshman Kara Yunker (Evansville, Ind./North) and graduate student Anna Lowry (Taylorville, Ill./Taylorville) then took the track and demolished the school record in the event by nearly 40 seconds by clocking in with a time of 12:51.96.  Those times set the tone for the day for UE, as Evansville would experience individual success in a meet with no team scores.

"I continue to be impressed with this group this year," said UE head track and field coach Don Walters.  "We were short-handed today, but that didn't stop anyone from going out and giving it their all and setting some personal-best times and throws.

"This bus ride back is going to be an enjoyable one, and I am really proud of the team for the effort they put in today."

Senior thrower Andrew Schuler (Ferdinand, Ind./Forest Park) would record his best career shot put mark of 13.47 meters to place sixth in an event won by teammate Mike Boots (Evansville, Ind./Mater Dei), who won with a toss of 14.87 meters.  Junior thrower Zach Dove (Princeton, Ind./Princeton Community) would also turn in a personal-best performance in the weight throw, as he finished second with a PR mark of 15.26 meters.

On the track, UE set four individual PRs in the 800-meters, with Weldon turning in her second indoor-best mark in as many meets this year with a time of 2:27.03.  Oulgout (2:01.83) and Pedersen (2:03.28) also set PRs in the event on the men's side, while senior Joey Rucinski (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) joined them with a personal-best time of 2:09.12 in the 800-meters.

Maurer would also set a personal-best indoor-mark in the 400-meters for the second time in a week with a time of 55.92.  Freshman Denzel Lasam (St. Louis, Mo./De Smet Jesuit) also turned in his best 60-meter dash time as a Purple Ace with a time of 7.51.

Individually, Boots and Lowry both took home individual titles at the meet, as Boots won the shot put, and Lowry cruised to a victory in the women's 3,000-meter race with a time of 10:01.62 to win by over 20 seconds.  Dove also finished second overall in the weight throw, and Rucinski claimed a second-place finish in the pole vault with a jump of 4.15 meters.

Evansville will return to action next on Friday, February 4 when UE travels to Carbondale, Illinois to take part in the Don DeNoon Invitational.