Titans' Hectic Weekend Was Full Of Noteworthy Activity

Sydney Thompson improved her position on this season's NCAA Division III Top-20 Outdoor Performance List in two events and Alexandria Demco and Riley Kindt one apiece as the UW-Oshkosh women's track & field team competed at the Hillsdale College GINA Relays, St. Norbert College Invitational and UW-Whitewater Drake Alternative Meet this past weekend.

UW-Oshkosh had three athletes – Demco, Hannah Lohrenz and Meygan Benzing – perform Friday (April 23) at the Hillsdale College GINA Relays in Hillsdale, Mich. The prestigious non-scoring three-day meet featured participants from nearly 50 colleges, along with a variety of elite sponsored and amateur athletes competing unattached.

Demco finished sixth and Lohrenz 13th among 25 1,500-meter run contestants with their times of 4:32.81 and 4:43.29, respectively. Demco's result upgraded her national ranking in the event to fifth. Natalie Cizmas, competing unattached, won the race with her time of 4:22.96.

Benzing placed 30th among 39 3,000-meter steeplechase participants with her time of 12:00.39. Emily Oren of the ON Athletics Club took first place in the event with a time of 9:55.96.

UW-Oshkosh then split its squad for competitions at the St. Norbert College Invitational and UW-Whitewater Drake Alternative Meet on Saturday (April 24).

A total of 33 place-winning performances helped UW-Oshkosh score 188 points and win the seven-team St. Norbert College Invitational.

Ripon College finished second to the Titans with 137.5 points while St. Norbert College listed third with 128, Carroll University fourth with 111.5, Concordia University Wisconsin fifth with 94, Lawrence University sixth with 57 and Lakeland University seventh with 22.

Thompson led UW-Oshkosh at the St. Norbert College Invitational with her winning measurements of 46-5 1/4 in the shot put that ranks her third nationally and 146-10 in the discus that ranks her sixth. She also won the hammer throw with a distance of 161-7. Thompson currently ranks 15th in the hammer throw with a mark of 168-0 achieved at the UW-La Crosse Ashton May/Phil Esten Meet held April 16.

Thompson defeated 30 other challengers in the shot put, including teammates Kahley Logan who finished third with a toss of 39-3 3/4, Katie Fruth who placed fifth at 39-0 1/4 and Taya Fleischman who ranked eighth at 38-8 1/4.

In the discus, Thompson beat 27 other contestants. Titans Morgan Florek finished second with a cast of 141-9 and Michaela Barrette fifth at 131-8.

The hammer throw had Thompson overcome 30 other participants, including Logan who placed fourth with a distance of 146-5, Elise Deaver who finished sixth at 140-11 and Fleischman who listed eighth at 133-10.

UW-Oshkosh had four other event winners – Elise Deaver in the javelin with a measurement of 105-10, Libby Geisness in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:18.35, Vanessa Jenneman in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.79 seconds and Cara Volz in the triple jump with a skip of 38-1 1/2.

Additional second-place mentions went to Fruth with her javelin throw of 102-8, Jenneman with her leap of 17-1 1/4 in the long jump and Elizabeth Reddeman with her time of 12:40.33 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Alaina Wagner had two of UW-Oshkosh's five remaining third-place finishes. She registered times of 27.01 seconds in the 200-meter dash and 1:00.93 in the 400-meter run. Wagner also finished fourth in the long jump with a mark of 16-8 3/4.

Other third-place results went to Ana Bubolz with her distance of 16-11 1/2 in the long jump, Daisy Wilson with her time of 2:28.93 in the 800-meter run and Lauren Young with her time of 5:07.56 in the 1,500-meter run.

The Titans also received a fourth-place time of 1:01.41 in the 400-meter run from Jenneman, a fourth-place hop of 33-8 1/2 in the triple jump from Karina Perez, a fifth-place height of 9-11 1/4 in the pole vault from Taylor Christensen, a sixth-place time of 13.59 seconds in the 100-meter dash from Amanda Starzynski and a sixth-place height of 9-11 1/4 in the pole vault from Grace Baldwin.

UW-Oshkosh completed its list of place winners at the St. Norbert College Invitational with the seventh-place leap of 16-1 1/2 in the long jump from Starzynski, seventh-place time of 1:02.81 in the 400-meter run from Erika Mullen, eighth-place measurement of 87-3 in the javelin from Barrette and eighth-place time of 13.83 seconds in the 100-meter dash from Bubolz.

The non-scoring UW-Whitewater Drake Alternative Meet featured participants from University of Chicago (Ill.), University of Dubuque (Iowa), UW-Eau Claire, UW-Platteville and UW-Stevens Point in addition to UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater.

Riley Kindt led UW-Oshkosh in Whitewater by winning the 100-meter hurdles, finishing second in the high jump and fourth in the 400-meter relay.

Kindt defeated 11 other competitors in the 100-meter hurdles with her time of 15.132 seconds. She edged the second-place time of 15.135 seconds recorded by UW-Stevens Point's Christine Hughes. Kindt currently ranks 18th in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.88 seconds acquired at the UW-La Crosse Ashton May/Phil Esten Meet.

In the high jump, Kindt placed second with a height of 5-6 that ranks ninth nationally. UW-Eau Claire's Bailey Waldhauser won the event with a measurement of 5-7 1/4.

Kindt also joined Rachel Castelli, Elizabeth Hren and Kyra Huber for a fourth-place time of 49.44 seconds in the 400-meter relay.

UW-Oshkosh had four fifth-place mentions, including a pair from the times of 12.83 seconds in 100-meter dash and 26.59 seconds in the 200-meter dash from Castelli.

Titan Nakayla Morgan finished fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.87 seconds. She also helped Drue Polka, Valerie Seeley and Julie Weber produce a fifth-place time of 50.50 seconds in the 400-meter relay.

UW-Oshkosh's Huber contributed an eighth-place time of 12.98 seconds in the 100-meter dash.

UW-Oshkosh concluded its busy weekend with eight first-place performances and a total of 42 place-winning efforts.

The Titans will host the UW-Oshkosh High Jump & Throws Invitational on Thursday (April 29) before splitting their team for meets at UW-Platteville and Wartburg College (Iowa) on Friday (April 30).

Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics