Wayne, Neb. – The Minnesota State men's outdoor track and field team traveled to Wayne State College this week to compete in the Wildcat Classic. The team competed in five events, bringing home two first place finishes, along with multiple top ten finishes.
 
In the men's hammer throw, the Mavericks dominated the top ten with seven student-athletes. Finishing in first with a throw of 59.59m (185' 08"), junior Joshua Beiswanger moved to 18^th in the 2024 NCAA DII Rankings for the event. Right behind was senior Carter Aguilera, with a personal best throw of 55.5m (182' 01"), coming into the national poll at 20^th. Junior Liam Byrne was the final Maverick on the podium, with a throw of 54.59m (179' 01") to place fourth at the invite and 25^th in the national rankings. Other Mavericks to make the top ten in the event were junior Zachery Shaner (49.17m), sophomore Oliver Andersen (48.04m), freshman Justin Freitag (47.51m), and senior Steven Orzolek (47.46m).
 
Byrne also competed in the men's javelin throw, placing third with a throw of 53.24m (174' 08"), ranking within the top 60 for the national rankings.
 
Aguilera topped the podium for the men's discus throw, throwing for 52.08m (170' 10"), placing him at 11^th in the national rankings. Andersen, Byrne, and Freitag took sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively, in the event.
 
In the final field event, sophomore Ben Wieser placed third in the men's shot put with a throw of 15.77m (51' 09"). Close behind was Orzolek in fourth, throwing for 15.56m (51' 0.75"). Freitag also made the top ten with a ninth-place finish.
 
Sophomore Braxton Stewart was the Maverick's lone track athlete for the invite, placing tenth in the men's 110m hurdles with a personal best time of 16.35 seconds.
 
Two Minnesota State men's student athletes traveled down to the Texas Relays for the weekend. Senior Jabez Reeves competed in the 100m dash, finishing 20^th with a time of 10.37. In the men's long jump, senior James Gilbert finished 8^th, with his best jump measuring 7.64m.
 
The Mavericks will continue the outdoor season next weekend, April 5^th-6^th at the USD Early Bird in Vermillion, S.D.