DE PERE, Wis. – Travis Eitel (Jr.-Pine Island, Minn.) qualified into the finals in the men's 400-meter hurdles and a number of athletes finished their seasons strong with personal bests as the Lakeland University track & field teams competed in the first day of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Outdoor Championships Friday at St. Norbert College's Schneider Stadium.

Eitel finished second in his heat to safely advance to Saturday's finals, slowing up before coming across in 1 minute, 1.61 seconds. He still finished well over a second ahead of his nearest competition and will be in lane 7 in Saturday's eight-man final in the event.

Emma Ziepke (Fr.-Manawa, Wis.) just missed the finals of the women's 400, finishing ninth after coming in seeded 12^th. Ziepke posted a collegiate personal record of 1:04.69, and also improved her school record in the 800 with a time of 2:31.82 to finish 11th, nearly two seconds better than her previous standard.

The field events saw freshman Jake Lemke (West Bend, Wis.), brand new to the javelin this year, uncork a huge PR of 41.28 meters (135 feet, 5 inches). The mark was nearly six meters better than previous best, and he finished 10th after being seeded 16th. Dakota Aschenbach (So.-Sheboygan Falls, Wis.) also set a PR in the javelin with a throw of 31.65m (103-10).

Heather Klepin (Fr.-Sheboygan, Wis.) posted two PR's to cap a strong finish to her first season. She improved her 800 mark with a time of 2:49.35 and lowered her 200 mark to 29.59.

Muse Abdi (So.-Mankato, Minn.), Chris Crawford and Kevon Holbrook (Sr.-Kankakee, Ill.)  all recorded bests in the men's 200. Abdi finished in 23.31, Crawford posted a time of 24.63 and Holbrook crossed in 24.81. Isaiah Malone (Fr.-Compton, Calif.) also returned from an injury that hampered him most of the outdoor season to finish with personal bests in the 100 (12.55) and 200 (25.83).

Owen Luedtke (So.-Sheboygan Falls, Wis.) also set a PR in the men's 800 for the second straight week, taking more than four seconds off his previous best with a time of 2:20.03.

The NACC Championships continue Saturday with more medals on the line and the Muskies in contention in several events, including Eitel in the 400 hurdles plus Abdi seeded first in the men's long jump.