Titans Win Five Events En Route To National Title
Christy Cazzola (Sr. • Kaukauna) contributed three of UW-Oshkosh's five victories as the Titans won the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championship on Friday and Saturday (March 8-9) in Naperville, Ill.
UW-Oshkosh easily took the title with 56 points. Illinois College placed second with 32, followed by UW-La Crosse third with 27, Wartburg College (Iowa) fourth with 25 and Monmouth College (Ill.) fifth with 24. This is the Titans' eighth indoor crown and the school's 45th national title overall.
In a span of two hours, Cazzola won both the mile and 5,000-meter runs. Cazzola clocked a time of 4:48.11 to take the mile for the second straight year. She then faced a large deficit with one lap remaining in the 5,000-meter race. Cazzola erased the gap and crossed the line in 16:57.58 to defeat Calvin's Nicole Michmerhuizen by 0.09 seconds.
UW-Oshkosh broke the Division III all-time record when Cazzola, Stephanie Jahn (Jr. • Deerfield), McKenzie Kelly (Sr. • New Richmond) and Kylee Verhasselt (So. • Freedom) clocked a 11:32.24 in the distance medley relay. Middlebury College (Vt.) placed second at 11:34.51.
In the weight throw, Samantha Loew (Sr. • Burnett) earned gold with her distance of 62-0.25. The Titans also had Melanie Brickner (So. • Marathon) finish third at 59-10.5.
Breanna Strupp (Sr. • Slinger) was the final champion. After finishing fourth in the shot put last season, Strupp posted a 51-6.25 to earn first place.
UW-Oshkosh begins the outdoor track & field season on March 30 at Titan Stadium.
By Jon Feyen