Titans To Compete At WIAC Outdoor Championship
UW-Oshkosh seeks its 32nd top-three finish in 33 seasons when it performs at this weekend's Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship (presented by Culver's) in River Falls.
Competition at the 47th version of the championship begins at noon Friday (May 4) and 10 a.m. Saturday (May 5) at UW-River Falls' Ramer Field. The meet will be held in conjunction with the 100th chapter of the men's championship.
UW-Oshkosh, an 11-time champion, finished fifth at last year's championship to snap a string of 31 straight top-three finishes. The Titans previously placed second in 2016, third in 2015 and second from 2012-14. UW-Oshkosh claimed league titles in 1988-91, 1994-97, 2004, 2006 and 2011.
Last year, UW-La Crosse scored 172.5 points to win its sixth straight WIAC title and 32nd overall. UW-Eau Claire placed second to the Eagles with 154.45 points while UW-Stout finished third with 101.5.
Rounding out last year's team standings were fourth-place UW-Whitewater with 96 points, fifth-place UW-Oshkosh with 93, sixth-place UW-Stevens Point with 82, seventh-place UW-Platteville with 78.5 and eighth-place UW-River Falls with 40.
UW-Oshkosh's Megan Leahy in the pole vault and Isabella Samuels in the shot put are seeded first in their event for this year's championship. Samuels ranks fourth in the NCAA Division III with her season-best distance of 46-6 1/4 and Leahy ninth with her season-high height of 12-4 3/4. Leahy finished second in the pole vault and Samuels third in the shot put at last year's championship.
Titan Lauren Wrensch is seeded fourth in a pair of events, the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.76 seconds and the long jump with a measurement of 17-9 1/2. Wrensch placed sixth in the lone jump at last year's meet.
UW-Oshkosh's Cara Volz is seeded fourth in the triple jump with a measurement of 38-2.
This year's championship features 11 student-athletes who have combined to win seven individual and eight first-place relay medals at previous league meets. It also showcases three teams ranked nationally in the NCAA Division III by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in eighth-ranked UW-Eau Claire, 24th-ranked UW-La Crosse and 25th-ranked UW-Whitewater.
UW-La Crosse's Sadie Kroll is the defending champion in the 1,500-meter run while Rachel Atchison was a member of the Eagles' victorious 1,600-meter relay teams in 2014 and 2016. She was joined on the 2016 team by Jeanna Goulet.
UW-Eau Claire's Samantha Slattery and Erica Oawster will aim for back-to-back first-place finishes in the 5,000-meter run and discus, respectively. Sarah Glidden was victorious in the high jump a season ago and helped the Blugolds' 1,600-meter relay squads produce first-place times in 2015 and 2017. Glidden was joined on last year's relay team by Ashleigh Buergi. At the 2016 championship, UW-Eau Claire's Tommie Brenner emerged with the pole vault title. Kelsey Worachek was a member of the Blugolds' winning 400-meter relay team at the 2015 and 2017 championships.
UW-Stevens Point's Alex Grubbs is the defending champion in the javelin.
The top finisher in each event receives all-conference first team status while the runner-up secures second team accolades and the third-place performer honorable mention recognition.