Demco, Keene Pace Titans At UW-La Crosse Phil Esten Challenge

Alexandria Demco won the 800-meter run to lead UW-Oshkosh's 10 top-eight listings at the three-day UW-La Crosse Phil Esten Women's Track & Field Challenge that concluded competition on Saturday (April 23).

Demco defeated 30 other contestants with her winning 800-meter time of 2:13.75. Kaylee Beyer of Winona State University (Minn.) finished second to Demco with a time of 2:13.84 while UW-Oshkosh's Libby Geisness placed fourth in 2:17.48.

Titan Ashton Keene ranked second among 49 participants in the 10,000-meter run with her time of 35:52.79. Rachel Krouse of UW-Stevens Point won the event with a time of 35:21.11.

Finishing third for UW-Oshkosh were Molly Greeninger and Riley Kindt. Greeninger ran to a time of 12.43 seconds in the 100-meter dash while Kindt accumulated 4,480 points in the heptathlon. Kindt's score is the ninth highest in the NCAA Division III this outdoor season.

The Titans received a pair of top-seven finishes from Brenna Masloroff. She placed fourth in the hammer throw with a measurement of 159-4 and seventh in the discus with a distance of 120-3.

UW-Oshkosh also had Rachel Castelli finish eighth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.51 seconds.

In the relays, UW-Oshkosh finished fourth with a time of 48.69 seconds in the 400- and fifth with a time of 4:24.12 in the 1,600-meter races.

UW-Oshkosh ranked sixth among 18 programs in the team scoring with 52 points.

UW-La Crosse captured the team title with 227 points while UW-Eau Claire finished second with 112, Winona State University third with 93, Wartburg College (Iowa) fourth with 72 and UW-Stout fifth with 68.5.

UW-Oshkosh will send athletes to both the Drake Relays and the UW-Whitewater Drake Alternative Meet this weekend. The prestigious Drake Relays will be held Thursday through Saturday (April 28-30) in Des Moines, Iowa, while the UW-Whitewater Drake Alternative Meet will be held Friday (April 29).

Photo by Jim Lund