DES MOINES, Iowa – The Wisconsin men's track and field team finished up at the 2017 Drake Relays with a team of Badgers braving the conditions in the Jim Wheelock Distance Medley Relay.
 
The UW quartet of Joe Hardy, Ryan Davis, Cooper Barth and Olin Hacker finished fifth in 9 minutes, 59.54 seconds despite cold and rainy conditions at Drake Stadium.
 
"The men's distance medley relay ran well in a pretty loaded race," UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne said. "It was fun to see the leaders slow to a pedestrian pace and allow the entire field to regroup. That's what competing is all about."
 
UW got off to a rocky start in the event there was a lot of contact between the runners during the first 1200 meters as Hardy was able to get a successful handoff off to Davis after running a time of 3:02.8. Davis split 48.3 on the 400 meters before Barth took the baton and ran a time of 1:52.0 in the 800 leg before handing the baton to Hacker.
 
Once Hacker received the baton, the pace of the 1600-meter leg slowed to a jog before the final lap.
 
"Olin did a great job staying composed in that jog-fest, but unfortunately he was boxed in on the rail on the final lap. Despite being boxed in, his last lap was 55 seconds and that's encouraging."
 
This result came on the heels of a runner-up finish from the 4x1600 meter relay team on Thursday that set the second-fastest time in program history.
 
Over at the UW-Whitewater Meet at the Rex Foster Track Complex, a group of Badgers delivered excellent performances highlighted by the throwers.
 
In the hammer throw, Riley Budde earned a victory with a heave of 206 feet, 7 inches (62.98 meters) to gain his first crown of the 2017 outdoor season. Runner-up Tucker Wedig set a personal record with a mark of 196-9 (58.71m), breaking his previous best that he set during last weekend's meet at the Triton Invitational.
 
McKena Ramos made his steeplechase debut where he came in second in 10:08.39.
 
During the 100 meter dash, Kallen Bentz qualified for the finals and took fourth with a time of 11.05. The junior also placed fifth in the 200 meters with a run of 22.43.
 
Over in the 400 meters, Aaron Wickman hit the track for the first time this outdoor season, placing sixth with a run of 52.62.
 
The Badgers return home next weekend for the Wisconsin Alumni Classic on Friday, May 5, while some members of the team will head to the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford, California.