Titans Have 13 All-Region Track & Field Selections
Thirteen members of the UW-Oshkosh men's outdoor track & field team have received All-Midwest Region accolades from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
A total of 951 awards were distributed to the nation's eight NCAA Division III regions for the 2019 season. The top five individuals and the top three relay squads in each event from each region earned all-region distinction.
This year the Midwest Region had a sixth honoree in the high jump, pole vault and triple jump to increase its list of award winners to 122. UW-Oshkosh and its seven other WIAC associates combined for 76 All-Midwest Region selections, including 23 from UW-La Crosse and 12 from both UW-Eau Claire and UW-Whitewater.
Repeating as All-Midwest Region for UW-Oshkosh were senior Ryan Powers and junior Jack Flynn. Powers earned his third straight award in the 400-meter run and Flynn his second consecutive citation in the discus. Powers was also named All-Midwest Region in the 200-meter dash in 2018 and the 400-meter relay in 2016.
Titans collecting their first All-Midwest Region decoration were junior Roman Hill in the long jump; freshman Steven Potter in the 800-meter run; sophomore Justin Rivers in the high jump; freshman Jackson Sheckler and junior Nick Tegtmeier in the shot put; junior Joe Vils in the pole vault; freshman Jonathan Wilburn in the triple jump; and sophomore Benjamin Jung, senior Christian Lopez, freshman Aaron McCarroll-Richardson and sophomore Robert Ogbuli, in the 400-meter relay.
Twelve of UW-Oshkosh's 13 All-Midwest Region honorees will be competing at this weekend's (May 23-25) NCAA Division III Championship in Geneva, Ohio. The Titans enter the meet ranked second nationally by the USTFCCCA.
Powers is performing in the 400-meter run at the Division III Championship for the fourth straight year. He finished 14th nationally with a time of 48.18 seconds in 2016, eighth with a time of 47.73 in 2017 and 13th with a time of 48.12 in 2018.
Powers achieved the third seed for this year's meet with a victorious school-record time of 47.22 seconds at the WIAC Championship. Earlier this season he finished third with a school-record time of 47.80 seconds in the 400-meter run at the Division III Indoor Championship.
Flynn, who earned all-region honors in helping UW-Oshkosh to a Division III men's basketball title this past winter, is competing in the discus at the outdoor nationals for the second straight year. He finished fifth with a measurement of 169-7 in 2018.
Flynn merited this year's second seed for the championship by recording a distance of 174-2 at the Augustana College (Ill.) Twilight Invitational. He also marked a second-place throw of 162-6 at the WIAC Championship.
In the shot put, Sheckler is seeded eighth for this weekend's championship with a season-best throw of 55-0 from the UW-La Crosse Eagle Open and Tegtmeier 12th with a distance of 54-0 1/2 from the Augustana College Twilight Invitational. Tegtmeier took second place at the WIAC Championship with a mark of 53-5.
Hill ranks 44th nationally in the long jump. He recorded a season-best measurement of 23-1 3/4 at the UW-La Crosse Final Qualifier. Hill finished 12th at the WIAC Championship with a leap of 21-3 1/4.
Potter is seeded 14th in the 800-meter run for the upcoming Division III Championship. His season-best time of 1:51.86 came at the UW-La Crosse Final Qualifier. Potter placed fourth with a time of 1:54.41 at the WIAC Championship.
Rivers is seeded 13th for the Division III Championship in the high jump after leaping to a season-best height of 6-9 at the UW-La Crosse Final Qualifier. He finished second with a measurement of 6-7 at the WIAC Championship.
Vils returns to the Division III Championship after finishing eighth with a height of 15-9 in the pole vault a year ago. He is seeded third this year after reaching a season-best height of 16-9 1/4 at the UW-La Crosse Phil Esten Challenge.
Wilburn secured his inaugural trip to the Division III Outdoor Championship with a third-seeded skip of 49-6 1/4 in the triple jump from the Drake Relays. Earlier this year he recorded a second-place measurement of 49-1 1/2 at the WIAC Championship and a fifth-place result of 48-4 at the Division III Indoor Championship.
In the 400-meter relay, UW-Oshkosh's quartet of Jung, Lopez, McCarroll-Richardson and Ogbuli is seeded second for this weekend's championship with a time of 40.81 seconds. The group earned their qualifying time at the UW-La Crosse Final Qualifier. Lopez earned All-America honors as a member of UW-Oshkosh's 400-meter relay group that finished sixth with a time of 41.21 seconds at the 2016 Division III Championship.
Dhruvil Patel from North Central College (Ill.) and David Kornack from UW-Eau Claire were named the Midwest Region's Track and Field Athlete of the Year, respectively. Joshua Buchholtz from UW-La Crosse was selected as the Midwest Region's Coach of the Year.