With four event champions, 16 top-five finishes and a number of other impressive performances, the UW-Platteville men’s track and field team showed the “Show Me State” how deep the Pioneers really are.

The Pioneer men made the transition from their indoor season to their outdoor season look easy as they finished first among 16 teams at the Washington University Invitational March 28-29 in St. Louis.

“We had some pretty good depth for once,” Ben Zizis said. “We always had our standout runners, but we sometimes struggle with getting the fourth, fifth and sixth places. Hopefully this will continue for us.”

“It is exciting to see how the team is getting better as we reach the outdoor season,” senior, Kyle Stangel, said. “Many of our athletes are stepping up, and it shows we are performing well in all events. I think this is the most talented track team I have been a part of since I’ve been competing at UW-Platteville.”

Racking up a total of 134 points, UW-P’s closest contender to their top finish was Central College following behind at 99, a whopping 35 points back.

Many competitors went the distance for UW-P while in St. Louis. Cam Klein and Stangel helped lead the men to victory by participating in two events each.

It was all UW-P in the 1,500-meter run as Stangel edged out Klein for the win, running 4:01.34 and 4:01.79, respectively.

The Pioneers’ 25-point accumulation in the 1,500-meter race alone outscored five other team’s overall totals.

Klein then went on to win the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:41.23 while Stangel’s time of 1:56.97 in the 800 brought him a third place finish.

Tyler Sigl broke his school record with his title winning and national qualifying run of 14:26.97 in the 5,000-meter race, and Mitch Spees ran the 400-meter hurdles in 55.17 earning him a victory as well.

Coming off their successful indoor season, in which the Pioneers placed third in NCAA Division III, the men’s track team looks to keep their momentum going throughout the outdoor season.

“I think we were really close to doing something special in indoor conference, and I feel we can place even better in the outdoor conference meet,” Stangel said.

“We have major point scorers at our big meets, but those people are supported and pushed by their teammates in practice and competition all year,” Klein said. “Teamwork is huge and we are so far utilizing it well.”

The Pioneers will hit the road again as they travel to the Wartburg Select, hosted by Wartburg College on Saturday, April 5.