Warhawks Defeat Titans For Titan Challenge Title
Massive scoring in four events helped UW-Oshkosh finish second in the Titan Men's Track & Field Challenge held Saturday (Feb. 18) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh totaled 146 points with the help of 22 points in the pole vault, 21 in the long jump and 19 in both the 800- and 3,000-meter runs. The Titans owned the winner in six of the 15 events.
UW-Whitewater won the nine-team meet with 158 points. UW-Eau Claire followed UW-Oshkosh in third place with 94 points while Concordia University Wisconsin finished fourth with 39, Carroll University fifth with 35 and Ripon College sixth with 19.
The Titans had four scorers in the pole vault, including Devan Gertschen who won the event with a height of 15-5 3/4. Matt McMullen and Joe Vils shared third place with leaps of 14-6 while Mitchell Hasey finished eighth with a mark of 14-0.
A pair of UW-Oshkosh teammates won the long jump as both Hunter Effa and Carson Weber recorded measurements of 22-0 3/4. The Titans also had Bryce Mancheski place sixth in the event with a leap of 21-6 1/4.
UW-Oshkosh swept the second through fourth places in both the 800- and 3,000-meter runs.
In the 800, Joe Zack finished second with a time of 1:54.50 while Derrick Rufer placed third in 1:56.40 and Mitch Pauers fourth in 1:56.95. The 3,000 had Skyler Yunk finish second with a time of 8:58.34, Trevor Damkot third in 9:02.44 and Bennett Krueger fourth in 9:05.41.
UW-Oshkosh had three other individual winners as Christian Lopez won the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.92 seconds while Morgan Malm captured the 60-meter hurdles in 8.37 seconds and Justin Skinkis the mile run in 4:17.62.
The Titans secured first-place in the 1,600-meter relay as Malm, Garrison Griest, Ryan Powers and Danny Trimner ran to a time of 3:18.20. Their performance ranks as the second fastest in the NCAA Division III this season.
Other top finishes for the Titans belonged to Weber, who placed second in the high jump with a leap of 6-5 1/2, and Bailey Quinn, who listed fifth in the 35-pound weight throw with a distance of 54-4 3/4.
UW-Oshkosh had two additional sixth-place finishers as Bailey Gesteland ran to a time of 22.91 seconds in the 200-meter dash and Jared Benson skipped to a mark of 41-7 1/4 in the triple jump.
The Titans' two seventh-place finishes were both acquired on the track as Nolan Peterson and Isaiah Sample posted times of 8.30 seconds in the 60-meter dash and 4:37.80 in the mile run, respectively.
UW-Oshkosh's scoring ended with the eighth-place performances of Dakota Griffith and Jacob Isaac. Griffith leaped to a height of 6-3 1/2 in the high jump while Isaac ran to a time of 51.46 seconds in the 400-meter run.
UW-Oshkosh also had three athletes compete at the University of Wisconsin's Shell Shocker on Friday (Feb. 17) in Madison.
Gertschen placed third in the pole vault with a leap of 15-5 3/4 while Collin Kempka finished 13th in the shot put and Quinn 15th in the 35-pound weight throw with measurements of 37-5 3/4 and 48-10, respectively.
NCAA Division I University of Wisconsin won the seven-team meet with 140 points while UW-La Crosse placed second with 121, NCAA Division I Marquette University third with 94 and NCAA Division I University of Northern Iowa fourth with 20. UW-Oshkosh finished seventh in the meet with six points, all by Gertschen.
UW-Oshkosh competes at the WIAC Indoor Track & Field Championship next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 24-25) in Menomonie.