Dwayne Ford, a native of Racine, WI, and graduate of Case High School, will compete for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s track and field team during the 2021 season, which begins this weekend.
Ford, a senior at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in physical education.
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s and women’s track and field teams begin an unprecedented season this Saturday at Kachel Fieldhouse with a dual meet against UW-Platteville, the program’s first of four dual meets this season and six competition dates.
The Warhawks will host five meets during the indoor season over the next five weeks. All home duals will be streamed online using StretchCast, YouTube and Facebook Live. Links will be available each week on the men’s and women’s track and field schedule pages.
Attendance at meets will be limited to participating coaches, student-athletes and meet personnel. Spectators will not be permitted to enter the building.
Both teams last competed in March 2020 during the indoor season. The men placed fourth and the women finished fifth at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Championships before the remainder of the season was canceled two weeks later.
Mike Johnson is in his 12th season as the head coach of the men’s program and his 10th year at the helm of the women’s program. He has led the Warhawks to 13 top-10 national finishes on the men’s side and four on the women’s side.
Returning conference top-eight placers from last season include seniors David Fassbender (Slinger, Wis./Slinger), Dwayne Ford (Racine, Wis./Case), Quinn Halversen (Rockford, Ill./Christian), Brian Kuehl (Geneva, Ill./Geneva), Daustin Martin (Jefferson, Wis./Jefferson), Kyle Neuroth (Muskego, Wis./Muskego), Lucas Skaaland (Westby, Wis./Westby), juniors Landon Keefover (Antioch, Ill./Antioch), Noah Selensky (Franklin, Wis./Franklin), sophomores Will Kaashagen (Cambridge, Wis./Cambridge), Justin Krause (Ixonia, Wis./Pewaukee), Josh Krystosek (Palmyra, Wis./Palmyra-Eagle) and Andrew Lohse (Dixon, Ill./Dixon).
Ford, one of UW-Whitewater’s most decorated sprinters, finished third in the 60-meter dash and eighth in the 200-meter dash at the 2020 WIAC Indoor Championship. He is a three-time All-American, including in the 60 in 2020, when he qualified for the national meet.
Kuehl was also an All-American in 2020, holding a nationally-qualifying time in the 800-meter run. He placed third in the 800 at the conference meet and was part of the team’s All-American distance medley relay. Kuehl was the 2018 indoor conference champion in the 800.
Krause, Fassbender and Neuroth lead the Warhawks’ distance squad.
Fassbender won the 3,000-meter run and the distance medley relay at the 2020 WIAC Indoor Championship and was an All-American in both the 5,000-meter run and DMR after nationally qualifying. He currently holds the indoor school record in the 3K (8:15.57).
Neuroth placed sixth in the 5,000-meter run at the 2020 conference meet, his first time on the WIAC podium in his track career. Krause finished seventh in the conference in the 1-mile run. Both were 2019 All-Region performers in cross country.
Keefover placed fourth in the 60-meter hurdles and was part of the team’s fifth-place 4×400-meter relay. He earned All-WIAC honors in 2019 with a third-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles at the conference outdoor meet.
Kaashagen was part of both the league champion DMR and the fifth-place 4×400-meter relay team. Lohse ran in the DMR, and Selensky was part of the 4×4.
Halversen and Krystosek placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the high jump at last year’s WIAC indoor meet. Skaaland also represented UW-W on the podium in the jumps, finishing sixth in the triple jump.
Martin finished fourth in the weight throw and was an All-American in the event after qualifying for the NCAA Championship at his last chance meet.
For more than 150 years, UW-Whitewater has provided students with the education and training to begin their careers with a solid foundation behind them. The UW-Whitewater is committed to the development of the individual, the growth of personal and professional integrity, and respect for diversity and global perspectives. These are met by providing academic and co-curricular programs that emphasize the pursuit of knowledge and understanding and a commitment to service within a safe and secure environment.
