Track athletes are typically measured by their speedy times in sprint events or their stamina in long distance, but the true test of all-around athletic ability would have to come in the form of an event like the heptathlon.

The heptathlon is composed of seven separate events — the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200-meter dash, long jump, javelin and 800-meter run — and the winner is determined by a calculation of points accumulated in each event.

This multi-event contest is one that involves tremendous versatility. Few athletes are able to compete at a high level in such a wide range of disciplines. The Badgers, however, have been successful in producing multi-event athletes, as the heptathlon, as well as the decathlon and pentathlon, has consistently been a strong area for the UW track and field team.

Despite losing a pair of stellar heptathletes in All-Americans Ashraf Fadel and Ryan Tremelling to graduation, the Badgers still have a handful of multi-event athletes who can make an impact, especially with the outdoor season coming up.

Freshmen Peter Dykstra, Brennan Boettcher and Seth Poleck all have the potential to step up and make some noise in the Big Ten. The Badgers also return notable junior Joe Detmer, who finished 14th in the decathlon at last year’s NCAA outdoor championships. However, Detmer has been focusing more on the middle-distance events rather than the heptathlon this indoor season.

Regardless of the event, Detmer is simply trying to help out the team in whatever way possible.

“I plan on just running and if I get the chance I’ll do another heptathlon,” Detmer said. “I feel like I can run really well in the 600, but I feel as well that I can do well in the hepts.”

While Detmer has developed into a middle-distance star, he believes he is really a multi-event athlete at heart.

“[The heptathlon] is what I’ve always wanted to do and I guess that’s why I was recruited initially is because I was going to become a decathlete and then I just started running instead,” Detmer said. “I had always wanted to do [the heptathlon] and I just never got the chance really.”

Last year, Detmer had the opportunity of proving himself in the heptathlon, as he recorded an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the heptathlon at the UNI Invitational with a personal best of 5,299 points.

This year, however, Detmer has stuck to the middle-distance events and the relays, finishing third in the 400-meter run at the Big Ten Indoor Championships and running the third leg of the 4x400-meter relay.

Nevertheless, the UW heptathlon corps remains a formidable group, as Nathan Brown and Ben Roland have stepped up during this indoor season.

Brown, a Madison native, has excelled in his sophomore year. Although he barely missed the cut for NCAA indoors this weekend, he has been pushing his teammates in practice and meets as one of three team captains.

Roland, on the other hand, was fortunate enough to qualify for this weekend’s championships and currently ranks No. 11 in the heptathlon event. He had an impressive outing at Big Ten indoors, finishing second behind Minnesota’s Travis Brandstatter, and will look to duplicate that success this weekend.

More astounding at the Big Ten indoors this year was the fact that Brown and Roland finished one-two in the shot-put event of the heptathlon. While the two aren’t the typical, stocky shot putters, weighing in at 185 and 195 pounds, respectively, the 6-foot-4 standouts displayed their versatility by taking the top two spots in the competition.

Roland will face stiff competition in the heptathlon at NCAA indoors this weekend, especially from the top-ranked Maurice Smith of Auburn. Smith competed in the decathlon at the Olympics last year, representing his home country of Jamaica. The Auburn standout was last year’s NCAA indoor runner-up in the heptathlon.