Men's Track & Field team coming into season with a young squad

MENOMONIE (January 14, 2016) – The UW-Stout men's track and field team is young, real young. On their 40-plus roster, the Blue Devils have only five seniors and 10 juniors. Do the math, and you come up with a roster that is made up of about two-thirds freshmen and sophomores.
 
Third year head coach Kyle Steiner takes the process all in stride.
 
"We graduated some big point winners last year," Steiner said. "But now is the time for our younger guys to step up and fill in those shoes. We may very well score points this year where we haven't before."
 
Blue Devil seniors include thrower Cole Bergman (Marathon), distance runner Tony Cass (Hortonville), jumper Nick Lubinski (Hudson), mid-distance runner Matt Message (Gurnee, Ill) and multi-event performer Kevin Salveson (Maple Lake, Minn).
 
"We put an emphasis on the multi-events," Steiner said.
 
Salveson, who made a trip to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship, is joined by Ethen Schoen (Jr, Fall Creek) and Walker Olson (So, Chetek).
 
Salveson finished third at the WIAC Outdoor Championship and Schoen was sixth. At the indoor conference championship, Salveson was sixth, Schoen seventh.  Olson was runner-up in the outdoor javelin.
 
Pole vault has been a strength for the Blue Devils for the past couple of decades. Christian Lucchesi (So, Milwaukee) added to that legacy, earning the outdoor conference pole vault title as a freshman, and made his first trip to the national championship.
 
"The outdoor (WIAC) championship was the best meet of the year for Christian," Steiner said. Lucchesi jumped 16-feet, 5-inches, the second best height ever for a Blue Devil freshman.
 
Joshua deBlock (So, Reedsburg) finished fifth in the pole vault at the outdoor conference meet. Robert Mesenburg (Jr, Byron, Minn) had a solid fall season.
 
Lubinski will put the wraps on a career that has had its ups and downs. Fighting injuries throughout his career, Lubinski holds the school indoor and outdoor triple jump records, earned All-America honors and captured the WIAC triple jump championship in 2014.
 
Lubinski has also done the high jump and is a two-time conference medalist in the javelin.
 
Bergman will help to lead the weights, along with junior Garrett Eide (Blair) and sophomore Duncan Magerl (Maple).
 
Tyler Odom (So, Oshkosh) will lead the young hurdle crew. Odom, who also competes in the javelin where he finished third last season, just missed the finals at the WIAC outdoor meet in the 400-meter hurdles.
 
Freshman Eric Fogltanz (Manitowoc) is expected to make a solid contribution after winning the Wisconsin state 300-meter hurdles title during his senior year in high school.
 
Ross Thompson (Jr, Mauston) hit a personal best while scoring in the 400-meter and has been a staple in the 4x400-meter relay.
 
Dante Kleinschmidt (Jr, Marathon) and Ryan Bjornstal (So, River Falls) will play a large role in the sprints, along with "a really young" group of sprinters, Steiner said.
 
"Most of them (the freshman) had marks in high school, but it is early to see how they adapt to college," Steiner said. "If not this year, they will be ready to contribute in a big way in the future."
 
Cass leads a deep group of mid-distance and distance runners. Cass is coming off a strong cross country season where he qualified to the national cross country championships last fall.
 
Message, one of three team captains along with Lucchesi and Thompson, set the school 800-meter record last spring.
 
Joe Van Grinsven (So, Little Chute) was injured last season, but after a good cross country season, should be ready to go for the track season.
 
An all-around athlete, Van Grinsven could run anywhere from the mile to the 5000-meter to the steeplechase and will also be trying his hand in the high jump and the javelin.
 
The distance crew is coming off a solid cross country season in the fall.
 
"We are hoping these guys can step over from cross country and contribute on the track as well," Steiner said.
 
The Blue Devils open the season Saturday, Jan. 16 when they host UW-River Falls in a dual in conjunction with the annual alumni meet starting at 1 p.m. Stout will host the UW-Stout Open Saturday, Jan. 23 and the Warren Bowlus Open, Friday, Jan. 29 and Saturday, Jan. 30.