Titans Prepared For NCAA Outdoor Championships
Both UW-Oshkosh teams expect a high finish at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday-Saturday (May 22-24) in Delaware, Ohio.
Women’s Preview
Christy Cazzola and Breanna Strupp, a pair of former national champions, will lead the Titans. Cazzola is the top seed in both the 800 (2:05.68) and 1,500-meter (4:20.80) runs. She ranks 11th in the 5,000-meter event with a time of 16:48.60. Cazzola has won five outdoor titles, including three straight in the 1,500-meter run.
Strupp leads the nation with her discus mark of 158-0. She is also seeded second in the shot put at 48-7.5. Strupp won the discus crown in 2011 and the shot put title during 2012.
UW-Oshkosh owns four entries in the shot put. Jecel Klotz is seeded third at 48-0.5, while Melanie Brickner stands 14th at 45-5.75 and Abby Martin 21st at 44-6.25. Brickner also qualified third in the hammer throw with a distance of 185-1.
On the track, Kylee Verhasselt ranks third in the 800-meter run at 2:08.18. UW-Oshkosh’s 1,600-meter relay team of Verhasselt, Stephanie Jahn, Caitlyn McCormick and Elizabeth Pospyhalla is seeded fourth at 3:48.24.
Becklyn Hunter will compete in both sprints. She is seeded 15th (24.71) at 200 meters and 16th (12.10) at 100 meters. The final athlete is Kasey Ederer, who ranks ninth in the high jump at 5-7.
The Titans top the NCAA Division III rankings, while UW-La Crosse is a close second. Wartburg College (Iowa), Wheaton College (Mass.) and UW-Whitewater round out the top-five.
UW-Oshkosh owns nine outdoor national titles, including 2011. The Titans placed second at this championship four times in the last five years.
Men’s Preview
The Titans have 15 entries, including a top-five seed in five events. Sean Kutz, McKena Ramos and Corey Wilch will each run two races. UW-Oshkosh also has three men throwing the shot put.
Ramos owns the nation’s top time (3:45.19) in the 1,500-meter run. He is ranked ninth in the 800-meter event at 1:50.69.
In the hurdles competitions, Wilch is seeded fifth (52.41) at 400 meters and 14th (14.62) at 110 meters. He’s grabbed All-America finishes in the 400-meter hurdles the last two years.
Kutz is entered in the long distance events, where he’s seeded sixth (29:58.55) in the 10,000-meter run and 10th (14:21.29) in the 5,000-meter race.
UW-Oshkosh is ranked fourth in the 1,600-meter relay. The group of Wilch, Brian Beaudo, Mike Servais and Reid Zanoya owns a school-record time of 3:12.38.
The shot put field includes a trio of Titans. Jeremy Brandt is seeded fifth at 56-5.25, along with Zachary Baehman seventh at 56-0.5 and Nick Grosskopf 16th at 53-11. Brandt placed eighth at the 2013 meet.
Joe Brunner is ranked fifth with his hammer throw of 199-0. Mike Heinz wraps up the throwing entries with his 16th-ranked discus mark of 164-1.
UW-Oshkosh’s participants conclude with Jordan Carpenter seeded seventh in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 9:04.23, Naji Allan 12th in the 100-meter dash at 10.63 and Jonathan Jordan 15th in the long jump at 23-6.25.
The NCAA Division III rankings show UW-La Crosse as the favorite. UW-Eau Claire is ranked second, while UW-Oshkosh stands third and North Central College (Ill.) fourth.
The Titans have finished in the top 10 at this championship each of the last 11 seasons.
By Jon Feyen