Titans Finish Fifth At Midwest ELITE Invitational

UW-Oshkosh's Amanda Van Den Plas and Lauren Wrensch were event winners as the Titans finished fifth among 10 women's track & field teams at the UW-Whitewater Midwest ELITE Invitational held Saturday (Feb. 9) in Whitewater.

Van Den Plas defeated 24 other challengers, including seven from both Carthage College and Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.), to win the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:35.13. Her performance was nearly eight seconds faster than the second-place time of 10:42.26 run by Sophie Young of Washington University in St. Louis.

Wrensch beat 33 other participants in the long jump with her winning leap of 18-9 3/4. She won the event by nearly six inches as UW-Stevens Point's Adrienne Lewis finished second with a mark of 18-4 1/4. Wrensch has now eclipsed the 18-9 measurement in four meets this season, including a distance of 19-3 1/4 that leads the 2019 NCAA Division III performance list.

In addition to her victory in the long jump, Wrensch finished second in the 400-meter run with a time of 58.04 seconds and ran with Lindsay Denu, Alexandra Demco and Taylor Pralle on a 1,600-meter relay team that placed seventh with a time of 4:12.76. Wrensch's converted time of 57.28 seconds in the 400-meter run ranks 10th in the country this indoor season.

Washington University in St. Louis captured the team title with 176 points. The Bears were closely followed by second-place UW-La Crosse with 143 points and third-place UW-Stevens Point with 91.

Rounding out the top seven teams were fourth-place Carthage College with 51 points, fifth-place UW-Oshkosh with 47.5, sixth-place St. Norbert College with 45 and seventh-place UW-Whitewater with 35.5.

UW-Oshkosh entered the meet ranked 10th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's NCAA Division III Rating Index while Washington University in St. Louis was first, UW-La Crosse sixth, Carthage College 16th and UW-Stevens Point 18th and UW-Whitewater 24th.

Other top finishes for the Titans on Saturday belonged to Allie Marineau, Sadie Huth and Sydney Rau.

Marineau placed third in the 20-pound weight throw with a cast of 52-5, Huth fourth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.38 seconds and Rau sixth in the pole vault with a height of 11-7.

The Titans also had Ashton Keene finish seventh in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:20.44.

Eighth-place finishes went to UW-Oshkosh's Megan Leahy in the pole vault and Danae Prange in the triple jump with measurements of 11-1 and 35-3 1/4, respectively.

The Titans will be represented in two meets next weekend – the University of Michigan's Silverston Invitational on Friday (Feb. 15) in Ann Arbor and the UW-Oshkosh Titan Challenge on Saturday (Feb. 16) in Kolf Sports Center.