Teams From Six States To Run At Kollege Town Sports Invitational
Runners from 32 women’s and 30 men’s cross country programs will compete at the UW-Oshkosh Kollege Town Sports Invitational on Saturday (Oct. 14) at the Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne.
The men’s 8,000-meter race begins at 10:30 a.m. while the women’s 6,000-meter run commences at 11:20 a.m.
Nationally ranked UW-Stout headlines the men’s field, and the women’s race features a pair of ranked teams. The UW-Stout men are ranked 19th in the NCAA Division III by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association while the Wheaton College (Ill.) and UW-Stevens Point women are listed 22nd and 32nd, respectively.
This year’s Kollege Town Sports Invitational features programs from six tates – Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon and Wisconsin.
North Central College (Ill.) won last year’s 37-team Kollege Town Sports Invitational men’s race with 24 points. The Cardinals, who went on to claim their 17th Division III title a year ago, were followed in the standings by second-place UW-Eau Claire with 73 points, third-place Calvin College (Mich.) with 109, fourth-place Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) with 141 and fifth-place Ohio Northern University with 197.
The UW-Oshkosh men placed 11th at last year’s Kollege Town Sports Invitational with 369 points.
Augustana College (Ill.), which placed sixth with 231 points at last season’s Kollege Town Sports Invitational, is the highest returning team on the men’s side. The Vikings also boast the highest returning men’s runner in Mitchell Johnson, who finished 41st a year ago with a time of 25:56.
North Central College’s Zack Plank won the 2016 Kollege Town Sports Invitational individual men’s championship with a time of 24:47.
UW-Oshkosh has won a pair of men’s invitational titles this season, claiming its third consecutive Roy Griak Invitational championship on Sept. 23 in Falcon Heights, Minn., and the Gene Davis Invitational crown last Saturday (Oct. 7) in Appleton.
Titans Cody Chadwick and Brian McKnight have both achieved a pair of top-10 finishes a piece this season. Chadwick placed fourth at the Gene Davis Invitational and 10th at the Roy Griak Invitational while McKnight finished seventh at both the Gene Davis and Roy Griak invitationals.
On the women’s side, two of the top 10 teams from last year’s Kollege Town Sports Invitational return for this year’s event. St. Norbert College is back after finishing fourth a year ago, while UW-Oshkosh placed ninth.
Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) claimed last year’s 36-team Kollege Town Sports Invitational title with 94 points. The Bears, who went on to finish second at the 2016 Division III Championship, were followed in the Kollege Town Sports Invitational standings by runner-up Calvin College (Mich.) with 113 points, third-place University of Chicago (Ill.) with 137, fourth-place St. Norbert College with 173 and fifth-place Hope College (Mich.) with 210.
UW-Oshkosh tallied 272 points in its ninth-place showing.
Jackie Schane from Aurora University (Ill.) is the highest returning runner at this year’s Kollege Town Sports Invitational. Schane finished eighth a year ago with a time of 21:55 while Erin Herrmann from Hope College (Mich.) won the race in 21:23.
UW-Oshkosh’s Cheyenne Moore placed ninth at last season’s Kollege Town Sports Invitational with a time of 21:56. Moore won individual titles at her past two races – the Roy Griak and UW-Eau Claire Blugold invitationals. She also finished ninth at the season-opening Vic Godfrey Open in Somers.
Titan Hannah Lohrenz recorded her first collegiate top-10 finish last Saturday (Oct. 7) with a seventh-place result at the Gene Davis Invitational.
Lake Breeze Golf Club does not offer spectator parking for this event. Spectator parking will be located at Winneconne High School (100 Wolf Run). Spectator shuttle buses will be available to transport spectators for a round trip cost of $5. Anyone aged 5 and under are free. The shuttle service begins at 8 a.m. and concludes at 3:30 p.m.
UW-Oshkosh Kollege Town Sports Invitational Competing Teams
Augustana College (Ill.) - M/W
Aurora University (Ill.) - M/W
Bay College (Mich.) - M/W
Benedictine University (Ill.) - M/W
Carroll University (Wis.) - M/W
Carthage College (Wis.) - M/W
Concordia University Chicago (Ill.) - M/W
Concordia University Wisconsin - M/W
Dominican University (Ill.) - M/W
Elmhurst College (Ill.) - M/W
Heidelberg University (Ohio) - M/W
Lake Forest College (Ill.) - M/W
Lawrence University (Wis.) - M/W
Malcolm X College (Ill.) - M/W
Michigan Technological University - M/W
Moody Bible Institute (Ill.) - W
North Central College (Ill.) - W
North Park University (Ill.) - M/W
Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) - M/W
Ripon College (Wis.) - M/W
Rockford University (Ill.) - M/W
St. Norbert College (Wis.) - M/W
The College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) - M/W
University of Northwestern (Minn.) - M/W
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh - M/W
University of Wisconsin-Parkside - M/W
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point - M/W
University of Wisconsin-Stout - M/W
University of Wisconsin-Superior - M/W
University of Wisconsin-Waukesha - M/W
Wheaton College (Ill.) - M/W
Willamette University (Ore.) - M/W