Titans Finish Third At Leonard "Squig" Converse Invitational

Naji Allan and Roberto Lara ran to individual titles as the UW-Oshkosh men's track & field team finished third at the Leonard "Squig" Converse Invitational on Friday (Jan. 30) in Whitewater.

UW-La Crosse, the third-ranked team in the NCAA Division III by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, won the nine-team meet with 145 points.

Fourth-ranked UW-Whitewater finished second in the team standings with 104 points, while 17th-ranked UW-Oshkosh placed third with 78, UW-Stevens Point fourth with 73.5 and both top-ranked North Central College (Ill.) and Augustana College (Ill.) fifth with 69.

Allan remained unbeaten this season in the 60-meter dash with his time of 6.95 seconds. Matt Adams of UW-La Crosse finished second among the event's 34 competitors with his time of 6.97 seconds.

Lara also remained undefeated by winning the mile run with a time of 4:12.13. UW-Whitewater's Dawson Miller finished second among the event's 43 participants with a time of 4:12.19.

The Titans had a trio of second-place finishes, including Nick Grosskopf who recorded measurements of 54-2 in the 35-pound weight throw and 53-10 1/2 in the shot put. Ryne Scopp was the runner-up in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:15.58.

UW-Oshkosh's next highest results were in the throws, as Mike Heinz finished third in the 35-pound weight throw with a distance of 53-4 1/4 and Zachary Baehman fourth in the shot put with a mark of 51-4 1/2.

UW-Oshkosh had three fifth-place efforts as times of 15:24.61 were recorded by Charlend Howard in the 5,000-meter run, 1:57.47 by Justin Skinkis in the 800-meter run and 4:16.95 by Joe Zack in the mile run.

The Titans' Derek Johnsrud finished sixth in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:43.99.

Next on the schedule for the Titans is the UW-Oshkosh Open on Friday (Feb. 6) in Kolf Sports Center.