AMES, Iowa – Two weeks after cracking UW's top-10 list in the 3000 meters, Wisconsin men's track and field sophomore Ollie Hoare was back at it again on Friday at the Iowa State Classic as the Aussie finished fifth in the invite section of the event to highlight action for the Badgers. 

Hoare crossed the line in 7 minutes, 51.69 seconds to tie Chris Solinsky for No. 5 on the program's top-10 list in the 3000 meters. Only Craig Miller, Maverick Darling, Morgan McDonald and Brandon Bethke have ran faster 3K times than Hoare while at Wisconsin. 

Hoare wasn't the only Badger to shine on the first day in Ames, Iowa, as senior Joe Hardy ran a personal best of 13:51.06 in the invite section of the 5000 meters, finishing 13th overall in a stacked race, featuring six of the top ten finishers at the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championship meet.

In the pole vault, sophomore Rashid Coulibaly matched his indoor personal best of 17 feet, 1 1/2 (5.22m) to take the crown in the event. Teammate senior Tim Guthrie was the runner-up, clearing 16-7 1/2 (5.07m) to secure his second-place finish. Senior Jake Wallenfang cleared a height of 15-1 3/4 (4.62m) to place eighth overall in the event.
 
On the track, senior duo Corbin Ellis and Kallen Bentz placed runner-up and third, respectively, in their heat of the 200 meters. Ellis ran 22.45 and Bentz crossed the line in 22.48, both times coming just a fraction of a second behind their personal bests.
 
Four other Badgers set PRs in the 5000 meters as junior Tyson Miehe blew away the competition in his section of the 5000 meters, crossing the line in 14 minutes, 5.74 seconds. Ben Eidenschink set a personal best in the 5000 meters of 14:05.84 to finish 13th overall while junior Zack Benning came in at 14:18.54. Teammate Noah Jacobs continued his freshman campaign this weekend in Ames, as he finished runner-up in his heat and 16th overall with a time of 14:24.34.
 
Sophomore Tucker Wedig placed third overall in the weight throw with a toss measuring 65 feet, 2 1/4 inches (19.87m).
 
Straight from the Track
UW Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne
On the first day of the ISU Classic:
"We had an outstanding first day here in Ames and this is what we were looking for two weeks out from Big Tens. Amy Davis, Ollie Hoare, Alicia Monson, all put themselves in the NCAA picture and that's exciting. Rashid and Tim continue to improve in the pole vault. We had a slew of personal bests and that's always fun."

Up Next
UW wraps up the second day of the Iowa State Classic on Saturday as action starts at noon at the Lied Recreation Center.