Titans To Participate WIAC Championship
Five UW-Oshkosh runners return from last year's meet as the Titans compete at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women's Cross Country Championship (Presented by Culver's) on Saturday (Oct. 27) in Colfax. The 41st version of the championship begins at 12 p.m. from the Whitetail Golf Course.
UW-Oshkosh's entry list of 12 runners includes sophomores Hannah Lohrenz and Melissa Srnka; juniors Tayah Cunningham and Ashton Keene; and senior Hannah Thorn who all ran at the 2017 WIAC Championship in Whitewater.
Keene led UW-Oshkosh a year ago with her 37th-place finish while Lohrenz listed 45th, Srnka 84th and Cunningham 87th. Thorn started last year's race but had to withdraw due to an injury. In 2016, Keene finished 26th at the WIAC Championship and Thorn 73rd.
Joining Keene and Thorn as two-time championship participants for UW-Oshkosh are junior sisters Amanda and Breanna Van Den Plas, who finished 77th and 81st at the 2016 league meet, respectively.
The Titans have seven five runners making their inaugural WIAC Championship appearance – freshmen Megan Berg and Alexis Reichardt; sophomores Allison Chen and Elizabeth Reddeman; and graduate student Evlyn Noone.
Noone has been UW-Oshkosh's top runner this season. Her three top-10 finishes feature a second place at the UW-Oshkosh Titan Fall Classic, a seventh place at the UW-Parkside Vic Godfrey Open and an eighth place at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational.
UW-Oshkosh, a 16-time WIAC champion, finished seventh at last year's league meet held in Whitewater with 140 points. UW-Eau Claire captured its ninth league title in 2017 with 33 points while 2016 champion UW-La Crosse placed second with 59 and UW-River Falls third with 91.
Rounding out last year's team standings were fourth-place UW-Platteville with 130 points, fifth-place UW-Stevens Point and UW-Stout with 139, seventh-place UW-Oshkosh and eighth-place UW-Whitewater with 174.
UW-Eau Claire enters Saturday's event ranked 10th in the NCAA Division III by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association and UW-La Crosse 24th.
In addition to the WIAC championships won by UW-Eau Claire and UW-Oshkosh, UW-La Crosse owns nine league titles and UW-Stevens Point two.
The top seven runners in Saturday's 6,000-meter race will receive All-WIAC first team recognition while runners placing eight through 14 earn All-WIAC second team accolades. Individuals finishing 15 through 20 collect honorable mention citations.
Returning runners who have secured All-WIAC honors in previous conference championships are UW-Eau Claire's Liz Cisewski (10th in 2017), Karen Gomez-Ruiz (17th in 2016), Maggie Louiselle (18th in 2016), Morgan Marek (eighth in 2017 and fifth in 2016) and Samantha Slattery (second in 2017 and 15th in 2016); UW-La Crosse's Hannah Beilke (19th in 2017 and 16th in 2015), Andrea Brekken (10th in 2016 and 18th in 2015), McKenzie Kirtz (13th in 2016), Sadie Kroll (third in 2017 and second in 2016), and Sarah Ziolkowski (seventh in 2016); UW-Platteville's Janelle Ferguson (20th in 2015), Johanna Meister (12th in 2017) and Katie Wardinski (13th in 2017); UW-River Falls' Nicole Jurik (20th in 2017) and Linsey Tolkkinen (11th in 2017 and 19th in 2016); and UW-Stout's Jessica Petruzates (ninth in 2017).
Written by Ally Gwidt, UW-Oshkosh Sports Information