UW-Oshkosh had six runners finish in the top 49 at the WIAC Championship.
UW-Oshkosh had six runners finish in the top 49 at the WIAC Championship.

Titans Place Third At WIAC Championship

Ashton Keene, Amanda Van Den Plas and Hannah Lohrenz all recorded top 21 runs as the UW-Oshkosh women's cross country team placed third at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship (Presented by Culver's) held Saturday (Nov. 2) at the Cole Acres Golf Course in Cuba City.

UW-Oshkosh, a 16-time WIAC champion, scored 97 points at Saturday's meet to finish third at the league championship for the second consecutive year. The Titans totaled 110 points a year ago.

UW-Eau Claire tallied 27 points to win its third straight title and 11th overall. The Blugolds edged UW-La Crosse's second-place score of 33 points for this year's title.

Finishing behind third-place UW-Oshkosh in the team listings were fourth-place UW-Stevens Point with 121 points, fifth-place UW-Stout with 122, sixth-place UW-Whitewater with 150 and seventh-place UW-Platteville with 230 and eighth-place UW-River Falls with 230. UW-Platteville was awarded seventh place over UW-River Falls on a tiebreaker.

UW-Eau Claire entered Saturday's meet ranked 11th in the NCAA Division III by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association and UW-La Crosse 23rd.

Keene was UW-Oshkosh's top finisher on Saturday with her 13th-place time of 24:16 for the 6,000-meter race. She previously finished 32nd at the WIAC Championship in 2018, 37th in 2017 and 26th in 2016.

Van Den Plas finished 20th among the meet's 86 runners with her time of 24:39 and Lohrenz 21st in 24:41. Van Den Plas placed 27th at last year's championship and 77th in 2016 while Lohrenz ranked ninth a year ago and 45th in 2017.

Other Titans placing in the top 50 finishes were Meygan Benzing, Alexandria Demco and Breanna Van Den Plas. Benzing finished 28th with a time of 25:09, Demco 33rd in 25:29 and Van Den Plas 49th in 26:07.

UW-Oshkosh also had Tayah Cunningham finish 52nd in 26:23, Melissa Srnka 54th in 26:30, Lauren Urban 55th in 26:31, Tricia Cich 67th in 27:28, Sydney Fricke 71st in 27:37 and Megan Berg 72nd in 27:54.

UW-Eau Claire's Lexie Tremble ran to the individual title with her time of 23:16. She was an eighth-place finisher at last year's championship.

Tremble was followed in the race by UW-Eau Claire's Emma Drangstveit and a trio of UW-La Crosse runners – Maddie Hannan, Rachel Jeffers and Maddy Sweeney. Drangstveit finished second with a time of 23:23 while Hannan placed third in 23:30, Jeffers fourth in 23:42 and Sweeney fifth in 23:47.

The WIAC also announced that UW-Eau Claire's Lexie Tremble was named the league's Athlete of the Year. The conference's Coaching Staff of the Year award was presented to UW-Eau Claire.

Following a weekend off all eight WIAC teams will participate at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional on Nov. 16 at the Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne. The NCAA Division III Championship will be held Nov. 23 at the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.

2019 WIAC Women's Cross Country Championship Website

Written by Sydney Szalinski, UW-Oshkosh Sports Information