Titans Register A Pair Of Nation-Leading Performances Against Blugolds

UW-Oshkosh won six events, including a pair with nation-leading performances, during its 79-71 women's track & field loss to UW-Eau Claire on Saturday (Feb. 27) in Kolf Sports Center.

Saturday's meet was a battle of nationally ranked program as UW-Oshkosh entered the contest ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Rating Index compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association and UW-Eau Claire eighth.

Sydney Thompson accounted for a third of UW-Oshkosh's victories by winning the shot put and 20-pound weight throw competitions with measurements of 45-11 3/4 and 55-5, respectively.

Thompson defeated 18 other contestants in the shot put with a distance that now ranks as the best in Division III this season. UW-Oshkosh's Morgan Florek finished second to Thompson with a throw of 44-2 3/4 and Kassie Wicherski third at 41-6 1/2. Florek moved to fifth and Wicherski to 20th on this season's Division III top-25 performance list with their efforts from Saturday.

Thompson beat 19 other participants in the 20-pound weight throw, including Florek who finished second with a mark of 53-9 3/4 and Titan Brenna Maslorofff who placed fourth at 47-0 3/4. Thompson ranks fifth nationally with her 20-pound weight throw measurement of 55-5 1/2 that was recorded during a dual meet at UW-Whitewater on Feb. 19.

In the pole vault, UW-Oshkosh's Emma Warr improved her nation-leading height from 11-5 3/4 to 12-1 1/2 with Saturday's victory over nine other competitors.

UW-Oshkosh's Alexandria Demco continued her impressive indoor season by defeating 14 other opponents in the 400-meter run with Division III's 16th-fastest time of 59.72 seconds.

Demco also ranks third nationally in the 800-meter run (2:15.58), fifth in both the mile (5:05.95) and 5,000-meter (17:43.97) runs and 14th in the 3,000-meter run (10:27.44). Demco's time in the 5,000-meter run occurred during her victory over 14 other challengers at the UW-Stevens Point Multi-Event Invitational held Thursday's (Feb. 25) in Stevens Point.

UW-Oshkosh freshman Riley Kindt placed in three events as she won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.26 seconds, finished second in the high jump with a height of 5-5 and listed fourth in the triple jump with a skip of 35-7 3/4. Kindt's leap in the high jump currently ranks her sixth in the country. She also ranks ninth nationally in the 60-meter hurdles (9.03) and 13th in the triple jump (36-9).

UW-Oshkosh's remaining victory came in the 1,600-meter relay, where Libby Geisness, Kyra Huber, Mikayla Jackson and Vanessa Jenneman combined for a time of 4:13.66.

The Titans had six other second-place results, including the times of 5:10.28 in the mile run by Hannah Lohrenz and 2:18.69 in the 800-meter run by Geisness that rank 14th and 15th in the country, respectively.

UW-Oshkosh also received second-place times of 26.39 seconds from Jackson in the 200-meter dash, 9.62 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles from Drue Polka and 10:49.85 in the 3,000-meter run and a second-place leap of 16-11 1/4 in the long jump from Jenneman. Jackson also added a third-place time of 7.95 seconds in the 60-meter dash that ranks 21st nationally.

The Titans closed their document of top-four finishers with the third-place time of 9.70 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles from Katie Retzlaff, the fourth-place time of 9.91 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles from Nakayla Morgan and the fourth-place distance of 16-8 in the long jump from Amanda Starzynski.

UW-Oshkosh closes its indoor season with an eight-team meet at UW-Whitewater on Saturday (March 6).

Postmeet Interview (Billy Piotrowski) With UW-Oshkosh Head Women's Track & Field Coach Justin Kinseth

Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics