The University of Wisconsin men’s track and field program hit the road to the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio this weekend to compete in the 2024 Big Ten Indoor Championships. With a combination of excellent individual performances, UW wrapped up the meet as Big Ten Champions on Saturday — their second straight.
There were three individual titles that pushed the Badgers past the University of Nebraska, who came in a close second at 118 points. UW eclipsed that mark with 122 points of their own — starting with the outings from Jackson Sharp and Bob Liking in the 3,000-meter race.
After a tight start with little separation, Sharp and Liking pushed past the pool of competition and found themselves out in the open. A strong finish from Sharp gave him a Big Ten individual title with a time of 7:46.42. Five seconds later, it was Liking who crossed the finish line to secure second place — which was another six seconds ahead of the third place finisher.
Sharp and Liking created a carbon copy of their 3,000-meter performance in their 5,000-meter showing — placing first and second place respectively. While the race was closer, their two outings in addition to Micah Wilson’s seventh place finish gave the Badgers 20 points in the event overall.
Abdullahi Hassan — the talented 800-meter runner who broke the school record earlier this month — placed second in the 800-meter race before an excellent performance in the men’s distance medley relay final.
Joined by Benjamin Nibbelink, Elliott Harris and Adam Spencer, Hassan and his team of four narrowly defeated the University of Michigan by just a tenth of a second to secure a first place finish in the race.
Spencer then took his talents to the mile portion of the meet, where he blew away the competition in a quick 4:05.90 mile, good for another individual victory for this talented group.
In the 400-meter sprint, Jalen Williams slotted in at second place to earn the Badgers’ team eight more points in their fight for first place in the conference.
Cade Amborn — a graduate student out of Bangor, Wisconsin — was the individual champion in the heptathlon high jump event. He also locked up second place in the heptathlon shot put.
Director of Track and Field Mick Byrne secured his third Big Ten Indoor Championship with the men’s group — adding another monumental victory for his strong resume. The indoor season concludes at the NCAA Championships in Boston March 8 and 9, a venue where UW looks to maintain this success as a program.
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