Titans To Perform At WIAC Outdoor Championship
UW-Oshkosh boasts the top seed in five events as the Titans seek to snap UW-La Crosse's run of 25 consecutive titles at the WIAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championship this weekend in Whitewater.
Competition at the 98th version of the championship begins at noon on Friday (May 6) and 10 a.m. on Saturday (May 7) at UW-Whitewater's Rex Foster Track Complex and Fiskum Field. The meet will be held in conjunction with the 45th edition of the women's championship.
Last year, UW-La Crosse easily captured the 51st first-place trophy in program history with 215.83 points. The Eagles were immediately followed second-place UW-Whitewater with 124 points and third-place UW-Eau Claire with 120.5.
Completing the team standings were fourth-place UW-Stout with 114 points, fifth-place UW-Stevens Point with 90, sixth-place UW-Oshkosh with 80.33, seventh-place UW-Platteville with 54 and eighth-place UW-River Falls with 41.33.
UW-Whitewater enters the championship ranked second in the NCAA Division III computer rankings compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. UW-La Crosse ranks fourth nationally, while UW-Platteville lists sixth, UW-Oshkosh seventh, UW-Eau Claire eighth, UW-Stevens Point 16th and UW-Stout 19th.
Leading the Titans in their quest to upset the Eagles are top seeds Zachary Baehman in the shot put, Jordan Carpenter in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Roberto Lara in the 1,500-meter run, Ryan Powers in the 400-meter run and Danny Trimner in the 400-meter hurdles.
Baehman paces the country with his shot put distance of 57-10 1/2 while Carpenter has posted a nation-leading time of 8:57.57 in the steeplechase.
Lara, Powers and Trimner lead the conference with their times of 3:49.39 in the 1,500-meter run, 48.27 seconds in the 400-meter run and 53.47 in the 400-meter hurdles, respectively.
Titans also expected to challenge for WIAC titles are Christian Lopez and Naji Allan in the 100-meter dash, Allan in the 200-meter dash, Devan Gertschen in the pole vault, and the 400-meter relay team of Allan, Lopez, Powers and Nolan Peterson.
Lopez (10.73) and Allan (10.74) rank third and fourth, respectively, in the WIAC 100-meter dash, while Allan's 200-meter time of 21.76 also lists fourth.
Gertschen's height of 16-0 3/4 is the third-best in the league this season, while the UW-Oshkosh 400-meter relay squad's time of 41.85 ranks second.
This year's championship features 11 competitors who have combined to win eight individual and five relay first-place medals at previous league meets.
Kallen Bentz and Trimner both ran legs on UW-Oshkosh's winning 1,600-meter relay team a year ago.
Other returning WIAC champions are UW-Eau Claire's Jake Pientok and Connor Drexler (400-meter relay in 2015), and Matt Hartje (400-meter relay in 2014); UW-La Crosse's Ross Denman (400-meter dash in 2014, 2015), Daniel Otto (110-meter high hurdles in 2014, 2015) and Zak Wallenfang (400-meter hurdles in 2015); UW-Stevens Point's Jerry Williams (triple jump in 2014); UW-Stout's Christian Lucchesi (pole vault in 2015); and UW-Whitewater's Mike Judd (110-meter hurdles in 2012).
UW-La Crosse has won all but one WIAC title since 1978. UW-Oshkosh, which owns six league championships, last won the meet in 1990. UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater have both won four league championships while UW-Stout has one title.