Titans Look For Fourth Consecutive Top-Four Trophy
UW-Oshkosh is looking to secure its fourth consecutive top-four trophy at the NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championship on May 21-23 in Canton, N.Y.
The Titans are sending 12 athletes to compete in seven events at the Division III championship to be held at Merrick-Pinkard Track & Field Complex and hosted by St. Lawrence University (N.Y.). Twenty athletes will compete for the individual championships while 16 teams will vie for the relay crowns.
Last year, UW-Oshkosh tallied 27 points to take home the fourth-place trophy. First place went to the University of Mount Union (Ohio) with 47 points, followed by UW-La Crosse in second place with 42 points and North Central College (Ill.) in fourth with 35.
In addition to last year's fourth-place showing, UW-Oshkosh finished third in 2013 and fourth in 2012.
The Titans enter this year's national meet ranked 17th in the Division III by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. UW-La Crosse is the top-ranked team, followed by UW-Eau Claire in second, UW-Whitewater third and Salisbury University (Md.) fourth.
Zachary Baehman is the highest-seeded individual at the outdoor national meet. His shot put toss of 56-3 1/4 qualified for fifth. Baehman finished fourth at this year's national indoor meet. UW-Eau Claire's Roger Steen leads the field with a heave of 61-3.
Roberto Lara is seeded seventh in the 1,500-meter run with a qualifying time of 3:47.95. Charlie Marquardt of Haverford College (Pa.) produced the top-seeded time of 3:43.84.
Mike Heinz (171-6) and Scott Heinz (168-8) enter nationals seeded ninth and 11th, respectively, in the discus throw. UW-La Crosse's Grant Havard paces the field with a distance of 194-3.
Naji Allan is the ninth seed in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.59. Allan placed sixth in the event at last year's outdoor national meet. Thurgood Dennis from UW-Eau Claire is the top seed this year with a time of 10.47.
Derek Johnsrud lists 11th in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 30:34.74. Bijan Mazaheri from Williams College (Mass.) is the event's top seed with a time of 29:39.27.
UW-Oshkosh will also be represented by the 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams.
The Titans' 400-meter quartet of Allan, Kallen Bentz, Jaron Olson and Nolan Peterson is seeded fourth with a time of 41.09. UW-La Crosse is the first seed with a time of 40.49.
UW-Oshkosh's 1,600-meter squad of Brian Beaudo, Bentz, Dan Trimner and Reid Zanoya is 10th seed with a time of 3:13.87. The foursome is trying to improve upon a second-place showing at the 2015 NCAA Division III Indoor Championship. Beaudo and Zanoya both ran a legs on the Titan 1,600-meter relay teams that placed sixth at last year's outdoor nationals and listed seventh in 2013. Augustana College (Ill.) is seeded first outdoors this year with a time of 3:10.25.
UW-Oshkosh won its lone national championship in 2009. The Titans, who have 18 top-10 finishes in program history, were the runners-up in 1990. UW-Oshkosh won third-place trophies in 2003 and 2013 and took home fourth-place hardware in 2012 and 2014.