Titans Attain Several Notable Performances During Busy Weekend

Members of the UW-Oshkosh men's track & field team established one school record, won four events and entered this season's NCAA Division III Top-20 Outdoor Performance List in four categories while competing at the Hillsdale College GINA Relays, St. Norbert College Invitational and UW-Whitewater Drake Alternative Meet this past weekend.

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

The Titans were led at the prestigious meet by Steven Potter, who finished second among 32 1,500-meter run contestants, and Andrew George, who placed third among 39 3,000-meter steeplechase participants.

Potter ran to a 1,500-meter time of 3:52.63 that ranks ninth in Division III. Nicholas Hoffman from Hope College (Mich.) won the race with a time of 3:49.65 while UW-Oshkosh's Andrew Rathkamp finished 18th in 4:01.02.

George achieved the nation's second-fastest performance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with his third-place time of 9:07.68. Noah Schaub from Malone University (Ohio) won the event with a time of 9:05.42.

UW-Oshkosh also had Mitchell Bradford finish 12th among 24 competitors in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:48.11. Matthew Andrews, competing unattached, took first place in the race with a time of 14:26.23.

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

The Titans used 29 place-winning efforts to win the seven-team St. Norbert College Invitational.

UW-Oshkosh compiled 167 points en route to its first-place finish while Carroll University listed second with 137 points, Concordia University Wisconsin third with 97, St. Norbert College fourth with 93 and Ripon College fifth with 81.

The Titans had five place winners in the long jump, including Joshua Rivers who won the event of 18 participants with a school-record measurement of 24-0 3/4. UW-Oshkosh's Jamyle Brantley finished second in the event with a leap of 23-6 1/4 while Roman Hill placed third at 22-8, Payton White fifth at 22-5 and Brant Sanderfoot seventh at 19-7 1/2. Rivers moved to third on this season's Division III Outdoor Performance List in the long jump and Brantley to seventh.

UW-Oshkosh's other event champions were Joshua Jones and Eli Tranel. Jones defeated five other challengers in the triple jump with his skip of 45-3 3/4 while Tranel beat three other competitors in the pole vault with his height of 14-10.

UW-Oshkosh also owned five place winners in the hammer throw and four in the shot put.

Titan Jason Myrick finished second in the hammer throw with a distance of 153-6 while teammates Max Schoening placed third at 153-1, Jacob Dennison fourth at 150-2, Jack Malloy fifth at 145-4 and Matthew Dorenkamper seventh at 137-3.

In the shot put, UW-Oshkosh's Nick Tegtmeier took second with a toss of 50-0 1/2, Jackson Sheckler third at 48-6 1/4, Malloy sixth at 43-11 1/4 and Tay'Jion Johnson seventh at 42-4 1/4.

The discus competition featured Sheckler finishing third with a measurement of 128-0, Tegtmeier fifth at 125-9 and Dorenkamper sixth at 125-8.

UW-Oshkosh's remaining second-place listings belonged to White with a time of 23.31 seconds in the 200-meter dash, Cade Ellenbecker with a height of 13-10 in the pole vault, Oneil Isaac with a time of 58.89 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles, Reid Marquardt with a time of 2:00.74 in the 800-meter run and Kunmi Olatunde in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.76 seconds.

The Titans also had Marquardt finish third with a time of 52.39 seconds in the 400-meter run, Cody Witthun fourth with a time of 2:03.01 in the 800-meter run and Olatunde sixth with a time of 1:01.92 in the 400-meter hurdles.

Sanderfoot added a pair of sixth-place finishes with his times of 24.22 seconds in the 200-meter dash and 19.21 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles.

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.

UW-Oshkosh had one first-place finish among its seven place-winning efforts.

The Titans won the 400-meter relay as Adrian Girone, Jaylen Grant, Aaron McCarroll-Richardson and Robert Ogbuli combined for a time of 40.95 seconds that ranks second in the country. The group defeated six other squads, including UW-Oshkosh's fifth-place unit of Rashaad Henderson, Denzel Thomas, Evan Wendland and Amitai Wheat that produced a time of 42.04 seconds that ranks 19th nationally.

UW-Oshkosh had four place winners in the 200-meter dash as McCarroll-Richardson finished third in 22.02 seconds, Henderson fourth in 22.16, Ogbuli fifth in 22.18 and Thomas seventh in 22.34.

UW-Oshkosh's John Ford contributed a second-place time of 55.52 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles.

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