Samuels Leads Titans At NCAA Outdoor Championship

Sophomore Isabella Samuels placed 12th in the shot put to lead UW-Oshkosh's four entrants at the NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship this weekend (May 25-27) at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Samuels produced a top distance of 44-6 3/4 while Tanasha Atwater from University of Dubuque (Iowa) won the shot put title with a distance of 49-6 1/4.

Also representing UW-Oshkosh at the national meet were senior Elizabeth Abhold, junior Kristen Linzmeier and senior Erica Munyan.

Abhold finished 16th in the hammer throw with a distance of 165-10. Whitney Simmons from University of Texas at Tyler defended her hammer throw title with a Division III championship-record distance of 210-1.

Linzmeier placed 15th in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:12.74, and Munyan finished 13th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:11.52. Munyan qualified for Saturday's (May 27) final in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:04.07 during the preliminary round on Thursday (May 25).

Emily Richards from Ohio Northern University won her second straight 800-meter crown with a Division III championship-record time of 2:03.51. Richards broke the previous record of 2:05.23 established in 2014 by former Titan Christy Cazzola.

Erin Herrmann from Hope College (Mich.) claimed the 3,000-meter steeplechase title with a time of 10:21.08.

Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) handily won the team title with 56 points. The Bears were followed in the standings by Ithaca College (N.Y.) in second with 37 points, Carthage College and Williams College (Mass.) in third with 33 apiece, and Bridgewater College (Va.) and State University of New York at Geneseo in fifth with 29.

UW-Oshkosh had scored at least one point at each national outdoor meet since 1986. The Titans own a division-leading nine national outdoor titles, winning the Walnut & Bronze trophy in 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2011.