Nebraska—home of Arbor Day, the Cornhuskers and crazy weather.
Last week Wayne experienced all four seasons in one week, and the WSC track and field team was stuck right in the middle of it.

The 2016 Wildcat classic was supposed to be on Friday and Saturday but due to the Easter holiday, it conflicted with other schools and was moved up to Tuesday and Wednesday. But with the threat of snow for Wednesday, the meet was finally settled for just Tuesday, and they made the right call.

It was a perfect day for a track meet.

Teams competing at the home meet were Briar Cliff, Dakota State, Dakota Wesleyan, Iowa Western CC, Midland, Mount Marty, Nebraska Kearney, Northwestern and South Dakota.

The Wildcats had two first-place finishes on the women’s side starting off with Kacie O’Connor winning discus. The sophomore won the event with a throw of 149’2” and also earning an NCAA provisional mark.

The second Wildcat to get a first place finish was junior Andrea DeSimone, who won the 5,000m run with a time of 19:58.83.

Another top finish for the women’s team was Kelsey Dietrich, finishing second in the 100m hurdles with a time of 15.34.

Highlights for the men’s team was a third-place finish from senior Bryan Dunn in the weight throw with a toss of 185’9”, also an NCAA provisional mark.

Nick Schmit earned a second place in the 3,000m steeplechase with 10:12.74.

Both assistant coaches Brett Sucksorf and Travis Kamm agreed that it is very encouraging to see these good marks during the first outdoor meet and should set up the athletes for greater success as the season continues.

“It was a good start to the outdoor season,” head coach Marlon Brink said. “We were very fortunate to be able to get our only home outdoor meet of the season in before the big snow. If we had not, we probably would not have been able to get a home meet on the schedule.”

The WSC track and field team will be on the road this weekend to Emporia, Kan., to compete in the 2016 Emporia State Relays on Saturday, April 2.

Men’s Team
Nick Schmit 2nd in 3,000m steeplechase (10:12.74), Bryan Dunn 3rd in weight throw (185’9”), Braxton Adams 3rd in 100m dash (10.78), Nick Fly 3rd in 1,500m run (4:08.11), Cortland Cassidy 3rd in 5,000m run (16:50.55), Nate Lechtenberg 3rd in 110m high hurdles (15.91), Trenton Zink 4th in 400m hurdles (1:00.04), Allen Arauz 5th in 400m hurdles (1:00.26), Clay Kramper 5th in 200m dash (21.72) and WSC 4x400m relay 5th (3:36.93)

Women’s Team
Kacie O’Connor 1st in discus (149’2”), Andrea DeSimone 1st in 5,000m run (19:58.83), Kelsey Dietrich 2nd in 100m hurdles (15.34), Rachel Rauner 3rd in 200m dash (26.29) and 5th in 100m dash (12.82), Melissa Kroll 3rd in 400m dash (1:00.34) and 4th in 200m dash (26.48), Siera Zach 4th in 100m hurdles (15.34), Shelby Roth 5th in high jump (4’9 ¾”), Ellen Wulf 5th in long jump (16’2 ¼”)