Five Titans To Perform At NCAA Indoor Championship
Returning All-Americans Elizabeth Abhold and Emily Reichenberger highlight UW-Oshkosh's five individual qualifiers to this weekend's NCAA Division III Women's Indoor Track & Field Championship in Naperville, Ill.
Competition begins at 10 a.m. on both Friday (March 10) and Saturday (March 11) at North Central College's Al B. Carius Indoor Track Facility.
Representing UW-Oshkosh at this year's championship are Abhold in the 20-pound weight throw, Reichenberger in the 60- and 200-meter dashes, Kristen Linzmeier in the 800-meter run, Cheyenne Moore in the 5,000-meter run and Alyssa Ryan in the pole vault.
Linzmeier, Moore and Ryan – all juniors – qualified for the national indoor meet for the first time.
The top 17 in each of the 15 individual events and the 12 fastest relay teams earned qualification to the national meet based on performances throughout the indoor season. The top eight finishers in each event at the national meet earn All-America status.
Abhold, a senior, is seeded 14th in the 20-pound weight throw with a qualifying distance of 57-5 3/4. Whitney Simmons from the University of Texas at Tyler is the top seed with a mark of 64-10.
Last season, Abhold earned her first indoor All-America award by finishing sixth in the 20-pound weight throw with a distance of 57-7.
Reichenberger is seeded sixth in the 60-meter dash and 11th in the 200-meter dash with times of 7.72 and 25.36 seconds, respectively.
At last year's national indoor meet, Reichenberger secured her first indoor All-America honor after placing sixth in the 200-meter race with a time of 25.52. The junior also finished 10th in the 200-meter dash at the 2015 NCAA indoor championship.
Bridgewater College's (Va.) Amber Celen is seeded first this season in both the 60- and 200-meter dashes with respective times of 7.58 and 24.56. Also competing in the 200-meter race is defending national champion and third-seeded Daisy Ogede from Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.).
Linzmeier is the 10th seed in the 800-meter run with a qualifying time of 2:14.03, while Emily Richards from Ohio Northern University is the top seed at 2:08.83.
Moore is seeded 10th in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:17.72. Felicia Koerner from Johns Hopkins University (Md.) is seeded first with a time of 16:41.95.
Ryan enters the pole vault competition seeded 15th with a height of 12-3 1/2. Katherine Pitman from Ithaca College (N.Y.) produced the top mark of the season with a height of 13-11 1/4.
UW-Oshkosh placed 17th at last year's Division III Indoor Championship with 11 points.
Baldwin Wallace University (Ohio) claimed its first indoor title a year ago by compiling 42.2 points. Illinois Wesleyan University finished second with 36 points, followed by third-place Washington University with 31 and fourth-place Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.) with 30.
UW-Oshkosh has scored at least 11 points in each of the past 29 national indoor championships.
The Titans own a division-leading nine indoor track national titles, claiming championships in 1994, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013 and 2014. UW-Oshkosh was also the national runner-up in 1990, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2010, 2012 and 2015.
NCAA Division III Women's Indoor Track & Field Championship Qualifiers
NCAA Division III Women's Indoor Track & Field Championship Host Website
NCAA Division III Women's Indoor Track & Field Championship Website