The Marquette Tribune

Winter leads men over UW-Milwaukee

The Marquette track and field team’s performance Saturday at the Milwaukee Dual Meet against Wisconsin-Milwaukee ended in a split decision as the men won 70-68 while the women lost 80-57.

Freshman long sprinter Kyle Winter highlighted the meet for the men’s team with victories in the 600-meter run and as the anchor of the 4×400-meter relay team. The two victories provided 10 points toward the team’s total score.

While Winter crossed the finish line for the victory, he said he’s not the only one who deserves credit for it.

“People put so much pressure on the anchor leg, but everyone else did their part as well,” Winter said. “It’s not like it was all me. I like having all the credit, but it shouldn’t be that way.”

Winter and his teammates’ performance in the 4×400 sealed the victory for Marquette over UW-Milwaukee as it was the last race of the day.

Senior high jumper Erynn James, who broke her own school record earlier in the meet with a jump of 5-feet and 10-inches, was one of the many bystanders for the 4×400. She said it was exciting to watch the team of junior Randey Fisher, senior Michael O’Brien, senior Jay Emmer and Winter take home first place.

“Everyone was sprawled around the track because it was the last race of the meet,” James said. “As the race progressed everyone moved towards the finish line and because it was neck and neck it added to the excitement.”

Winter said the performance in the 4×400 reminded him of his junior year at Kettle Moraine High School, when the team competed for the state championship in 2008. The team won the race and ended up winning the meet by two points.

“It came down to the last race, last event and I was the anchor of our 4×4 team,” Winter said. “The same thing happened (then as it did Saturday), and it brought everything back.”

Winter, in both events Saturday, squeaked out his victories. He finished the 600 in 1:22.5, which beat the competition by .06 seconds. In the 4×400, Winter’s relay team finished in 3:25.37, which beat the competition by .26 seconds.

At the Badger Track Classic Jan. 16, Winter finished second in the 600 with a time of 1:22.38. He also won the 500-meter dash at the Blue & Gold Invitational on Dec. 4. His performance in the 500 qualified him for the Big East Indoor Championships, which start Feb. 20.

Rogers said Winter’s performance in high school made him believe Winter could come to Marquette and contribute immediately. But maybe not to the extent he has so far.

He’s noticed that Winter hasn’t won many races by large margins. He added that Winter’s refusal to lose makes him a strong runner at the end of races.

“Kyle’s got that extra kick at the end of a race,” Rogers said. “He pushes himself beyond the pain threshold, which is a talent in and of itself. It’s what makes him a special runner.”

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