Nationally Ranked Titans Headed to Rochester for NCAA Championships

OSHKOSH, Wis.- The UW-Oshkosh men's track and field, ranked fifth in the nation, is sending 15 athletes to Rochester, N.Y. to compete in the NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships from Thursday to Saturday (May 25-27).

The 49th edition of the NCAA Division III Championships, the meet will be held at the Polisseni Track and Field Complex in Rochester, hosted by St. John Fisher University (N.Y.) and the Rochester NY Sports Commission.

The top 22 individuals and top 16 relay teams earned their way to the national meet based on results throughout the 2023 outdoor season. The top eight finishers in each event at the championships will receive All-America status.

UWO has sent athletes to the national outdoor meet every year since 1984, winning the title in 2009.

In the final week of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll, the Titans have been ranked fifth with three top-five seeds and seven top-10 seeds. Also in the top-25 are UW-La Crosse (No. 1), UW-Eau Claire (No. 7), UW-Whitewater (No. 8) and UW-Platteville (No. 11).

Seven of UW-Oshkosh's events are in the top-10 of the USTFCCCA #EventSquad rankings this week.

The decathlon squad is second with 6,380 average points, the pole vault squad ranks third with an average height of 15' 3.75" (4.64m), the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash squads are both fourth with 10.64 and 21.54 second finishes, the high jump and long jump squads are both fifth with average marks of 6' 4.75" (1.95m) and 22' 10.5" (6.97m) and the 400-meter hurdle squad is ninth with an average time of 55.35 seconds.

Leading UWO with three qualifications for the national meet was Londyn Little (So./Columbia, Ill.) with selections to the 200-meter dash, 4x100-meter relay and the 4x400-meter relay. Little, who broke the 200-meter dash school record this season, also was a member of the record-breaking 4x400-meter relay team. He ranks 13th in the nation in the 200-meter dash, the 4x100-meter relay squad is third and the 4x400-meter relay squad is ninth.

The other three members of the 4x100-meter relay are Joey Kean (Jr./Middleton), Aaron Richardson (Gr./Middleton) and Rashaad Henderson (Jr./Racine). The squad is third in the nation. The remaining three runners on the 4x400-meter relay are Aden Sears (Fr./Eureka, Ill.), Ryan Potter (So./Oak Creek) and Reid Marquardt (Jr./Peshtigo).

Henderson was also selected for the 200-meter dash where he sits second in school history and 17th in school history.

Charlie Nolan (Fr./Normal, Ill.) and RJ Bosshart (Jr./Muskego) will compete in the decathlon alongside Sears. Nolan ranks second in school history and the nation, Bosshart ranks fourth in school history and eighth in the nation and Sears ranks fifth in school history and 11th nationally.

In remaining track qualifications, Steven Potter (Sr./Oak Creek) was selected for the 1,500-meter run and Jake Krause (So./Hortonville) was selected for the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Potter is second in school history and 18th in the nation in the 1,500-meter run and Krause ranks fifth in school history and 20th in the nation the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Caleb Cornelius (So./Racine), Eli Tranel (Sr./West Bend), Zach Zirgibel (So./Merton) and Jonathan Wilburn (Sr./Evanston, Ill.) were all selected for field events. Cornelius, who is tied for fifth in school history and is eighth in the nation this season, qualified in the high jump. Tranel and Zirgibel qualified in the pole vault. Tranel is fifth in school history and sixth in the nation and Zirgibel is seventh in school history and 20th in the nation. Wilburn, who is the school record holder and sits second in the nation, qualified in the triple jump.