The Wildcat track and field team started the season this weekend with the Nebraska Graduate Classic hosted in Lincoln at the Devaney Sports Center.

“It was our first meet back so we are not at our peak performance, but we are at a good starting point and now we have a better understanding of what we need to work on in practice,” Head Coach Marlon Brink said after the meet.

Senior thrower Michaela Dendinger took home first in the weight throw and placed second in the shot put to start the season off with another top performance. Dendinger achieved her first-place finish with a top mark of 19.07 meters, which is now tied for the third-best mark in NCAA Division II.

“It felt good going into indoor season; we had great fall training without many injuries so we were able to get good workouts in,” said Dendinger. “It was a weight off my shoulders qualifying already but I know I have to continue to improve every week. My goal is to be a national champion in both events. I have to give it my all for my senior year.”

She went on Saturday to launch the shot put at 15.7 meters, now the top mark in Division II this season. Both Dendinger’s marks in weight throw and shot put are NCAA provisional qualifying throws.

“We expected a big mark from her and because she qualified so early now she will have more time to focus on a higher volume of throws and gaining even more strength in the weight room,” Brink said.

Senior Antoine Bardou raced his way to a second place finish in the 1,000-meter run, posting a time of 2:31.35, falling behind the first place time by just .37 hundredths of a second.

Senior Brady Metz finished in sixth place in the triple jump with a distance of 14.31m. The wildcats closed out the meet with a sixth place finish in the distance medley. The relay team of Bardou, Jediah Davis, Nathan Pearson and Brock Hegarty finished with a combined time of 10:31.15.

The main focus of the Wildcats will be to continue to gain experience and prepare for conference at Minnesota State University Mankato, which will take place Feb. 23 and 24.

The Wildcats will compete at the South Dakota State Division II Invitational in Brookings, South Dakota, on Friday starting at 2 p.m.