Titans Set School Relay Record At Esten Challenge
UW-Oshkosh set a school record in the 400-meter relay and generated three individual winners as the Titans placed fourth at the Phil Esten Challenge on Friday and Saturday (April 21-22) in La Crosse.
NCAA Division II institution Winona State University (Minn.) won the 16-team meet with 184.5 points to edge host UW-La Crosse's total of 174.5. UW-Stout finished third with 98.5 points, UW-Oshkosh fourth with 90.5 and Wartburg College (Iowa) fifth with 72.
The Titans' 400-meter relay squad of Ashley Holicek, Becklyn Hunter, Emily Reichenberger and Olivia Seeley eclipsed the program record with a time of 47.13 seconds. Winona State University won the race with a time of 46.90 and UW-La Crosse finished second in 47.08.
Hunter claimed the 100-meter dash title with a time of 12.09 while Taylor Sherry won the 100-meter hurdle race with a time of 14.37 and Kylee Verhasselt was triumphant in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:29.39.
Reichenberger placed third in the 200-meter dash with her time of 25.46. Meg Heafy from UW-La Crosse won the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.85.
UW-Oshkosh received fourth-place efforts from Elizabeth Abhold in the hammer throw with a cast of 171-8 and Lauren Wrensch in the long jump with a distance of 17-6.
Abhold added a pair of eighth-place finishes in the shot put (41-10) and the discus throw (130-4).
Finishing in fifth place for the Titans were Kasey Ederer in the high jump with a clearance of 5-5 1/4, Kristen Linzmeier in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:41.73, Alyssa Ryan in the pole vault with a height of 11-5 3/4 and Isabella Samuels in the shot put with a toss of 42-9.
Sixth-place efforts for UW-Oshkosh were turned in by Megan Leahy in the pole vault with a height of 10-11 3/4, Caitlin McCormick in the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.63 and Seeley in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.00.
Danica Harrison contributed a seventh-place finish for the Titans in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:45.12.
Rounding out UW-Oshkosh's eighth-place finishers were Karina Marchan in the long jump (17-1 1/2), Sherry in the 400-meter hurdles (1:05.38) and Michaela Welsh in the 5,000-Meter run (20:19.68).
UW-Oshkosh will compete at three meets this weekend. On Friday and Saturday (April 29-30) the Titans will be represented at the both the Drake and Gina relays held in Des Moines, Iowa, and Hillsdale, Mich., respectively. UW-Oshkosh will also compete at UW-Whitewater's Drake Alternative Meet on Sunday (May 1).