Loew, Verhasselt Victorious In La Crosse

Samantha Loew (Sr. • Burnett) counted the #3 hammer throw in the nation as UW-Oshkosh placed third at the Phil Esten Challenge on April 20-21 in La Crosse.

UW-La Crosse won the 13-team meet with 162 points. Winona State University (Minn.) came in second with 148, while the Titans tallied 118, Wartburg College 80 and UW-River Falls 53 to round out the top-five.

Loew posted a 181-3 to win the hammer throw by more than 17 feet. Her distance is just nine inches short of the NCAA Division III best this season.

Kylee Verhasselt (So. • Freedom) was UW-Oshkosh's other champion, clocking a first-place time of 2:16.91 in the 800-meter run.

Two other strong finishes came in the throwing events. Melanie Brickner (So. • Marathon) took second in the shot put at 43-3 and Abby Martin (Jr. • Chilton) listed third in the hammer throw at 162-4.

Other third-place showings came from Cassandra Hemmen (So. • Appleton) with her triple jump of 36-11.5, Leah Rendflesh (Fr. • South Milwaukee) with her 5,000-meter time of 18:34.13 and Tessa Thurs (Fr. • Edgar) with a 400-meter score of 1:05.56.

UW-Oshkosh sends athletes to three different locations next weekend (April 25-27).

By Jon Feyen