Titans Have Three All-Americans At NCAA Indoor Championships
Freshman Erik Schwandt, junior Ryan Powers and senior Devan Gertschen earned All-America recognition for UW-Oshkosh at the NCAA Division III Men's Indoor Track & Field Championships held Friday and Saturday (March 9-10) in Birmingham, Ala.
Schwandt led UW-Oshkosh's All-America honorees with his fifth-place time of 6.87 seconds in the 60-meter dash. Jamal Watkins of Birmingham-Southern College (Ala.) won the event of 15 participants with a time of 6.78 seconds while Louis Berry of University of Mount Union (Ohio) placed second in 6.79.
Powers was a national qualifier in two events, including the 400-meter run where he finished sixth with a time of 48.56 seconds. Patrick Mikel of Loras College (Iowa) defeated 14 other contestants with his winning time of 47.74 seconds while Karl Olsen of Bethel University (Minn.) finished second in 47.88.
Powers also represented the Titans in the 200-meter dash. He placed 10th in the sprint with a time of 22.05 second as missed qualifying for the finals by less than one-tenth of a second. Jordan Johnson of Benedictine University (Ill.) went on to win the event with a time of 21.666 seconds while Calden Wojt of UW-Stevens Point finished a close second at 21.668.
Powers, a first-time 200-meter dash qualifier, returned to the 400-meter run field for the third straight year. He earned All-America status by placing sixth in the 400-meter run in 2016 before finishing ninth in the race a year ago.
Gertschen was a seventh-place finisher for UW-Oshkosh in the pole vault. He leaped to a height of 16-0 3/4 after placing ninth at the past two NCAA championships. Dan Evers of Monmouth College (Ill.) won the event with a measurement of 17-7 1/4 while Matt Keim of University of Mount Union ranked second at 16-6 3/4.
The top eight finishers in each event at the national championships earn All-America recognition.
UW-Oshkosh had two other performers at this year's championships – senior Joe Zack and sophomore Joe Vils.
Zack finished 11th in the mile run with a time of 4:13.879 and missed qualifying for the final by two-thousandths of a second as Donson Cook-Gallard of Carleton College (Minn.) earned the 10th and final advancement berth with his time of 4:13.878. Jeremy Hernandez of Ramapo College (N.J.) won the race with a time of 4:05.95 while Jeffrey Dover of Christopher Newport University (Va.) finished second in 4:10.85. Zack also placed ninth in the mile run a last year's national meet.
Vils' first visit to the national championships resulted in a 13th-place height of 15-1 in the pole vault.
UW-Oshkosh, the 2009 NCAA indoor champion, placed 28th among the 66 programs that scored at this year's championships with nine points. The Titans were also the national runners-up in 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2013.
University of Mount Union edged North Central College (Ill.), 41-40, for this year's team title. Rowan University (N.J.) finished third with 37 points, UW-Eau Claire fourth with 29 and UW-La Crosse fifth with 28. North Central College and UW-La Crosse shared last year's title with 34 points.
NCAA Division III Men's & Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships • NCAA.com Website
NCAA Division III Men's & Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships • Host Website