Titans Among Contenders For NCAA Team Title
Top-seed Jonathan Wilburn in the triple jump and second-seed Jack Flynn in the discus headline UW-Oshkosh's list of 19 qualifiers for this weekend's NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championship in Greensboro, N.C.
The 47th version of the championship will be held Thursday through Saturday (May 27-29) at North Carolina A&T State University's Irwin Belk Track & Field Complex. Competition begins at 10:30 a.m. (EDT) both Thursday and Saturday and 10 a.m. on Friday. The meet will be held in conjunction with the 39th edition of the women's championship.
Last year the Division III Men's and Women's Championships were canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
This year's men's championship features 19 entrants in each of the 19 individual events and 14 contestants in both two relays. The top-eight finishers in each event earn All-America honors.
Wilburn, who finished second in the triple jump at the 2019 Division III Championship, earned this year's top seed with a winning and school-record measurement of 51-5 at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship held May 7-8. Kyle Rollins of St. John Fisher College (N.Y.) is seeded second in the triple jump with a season-best distance of 50-8 1/4.
Flynn is competing in the discus at the Division III Championship for the third time after finishing fifth in the country in 2018 and fourth in 2019. He acquired this year's second seed with a winning measurement of 177-1 at the WIAC Championship. Steve Hermsen of Carroll University is the event's top seed with a season-best throw of 187-8.
Flynn was a three-year starter on UW-Oshkosh's men's basketball team that won the Division III title in 2019 and finished second in the nation in 2018. He ranks ninth in the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball history with 1,565 career points and fourth with 799 career rebounds.
Other Titans with top five seeds are Steven Potter in the 800-meter run, Andrew George in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Jackson Sheckler in the shot put.
Potter obtained the third seed in the 800-meter run with his time of 1:50.39 at the North Central College Dr. Keeler Invitational held May 13. He won both the 800- and 1,500-meter runs at this year's WIAC Championship and was a qualifier in the 800-meter run at the 2019 Division III meet. Loras College's (Iowa) Mike Jasa earned this weekend's top 800-meter run seed with his season-best time of 1:50.00.
George makes his debut at the Division III Championship after winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the WIAC Championship. He achieved this weekend's fifth seed by posting a time of 9:07.68 in the event at the Hillsdale College GINA Relays held April 22. Matthew Wilkinson of Carleton College (Minn.) is seeded first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:44.01.
Sheckler, who finished sixth in the shot put at the 2019 Division III Championship, is seeded third in the event this year after his throw of 58-9 1/2 at the Augustana College Twilight Invitational held May 20. He was a second-place finisher in the shot put at this year's WIAC Championship. UW-Stout's Kevin Ruechel is seeded first this weekend a season-best shot put distance of 59-2 3/4.
UW-Oshkosh has a second shot put competitor for this weekend in 16th-seeded Nick Tegtmeier. He earned his seed with a throw of 53-1 1/2 at the UW-Platteville Border Battle held April 30. Tegtmeier was a third-place finisher in the shot put at the WIAC Championship and was a contestant in the event at the 2019 Division III Championship.
The Titans will also have two participants in both the 100-meter dash and long jump.
In the 100-meter dash, Denzel Thomas is seeded 11th with his ninth-place time of 10.58 seconds from the WIAC Championship and Jaylen Grant 14th with his time of 10.60 seconds from the UW-Whitewater Rex Foster Twilight Meet held April 2. Grant was a second-place finisher at the WIAC Championship. Both Thomas and Grant are first-time Division III Championship participants. Derrick Jackson of Knox College (Ill.) is seeded first in the 100-meter dash with a season-best time of 10.45 seconds.
In the long jump, first-time Division III Championship qualifiers Joshua Rivers is seeded eighth with his measurement of 24-0 3/4 from the St. Norbert College Invitational held April 23 and Jamyle Brantley 13th with his distance of 23-11 1/2 from the UW-La Crosse Eagle Open held May 14. Brantley was a second-place finisher at the WIAC Championship. The top seed in the long jump belongs to Justin Kiefel of Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) and Nana Agyemang of Rowan University (N.J.) with their season-best leaps of 24-9.
Titan John Ford make his first visit to the Division III Championship as a 17th seed in the 400-meter hurdles. Ford picked up his seed with a time of 53.83 seconds at the North Central College Dr. Keeler Invitational. He was a second-place finisher at the WIAC Championship. Dallas Wright of Wartburg College (Iowa) owns the top seed with his season-best time of 51.52 seconds.
In the relays, UW-Oshkosh is seeded second in the 400- and fourth in the 1,600-meter races. The Titans won the 1,600-meter relay at the WIAC Championship.
The 400-meter relay group of Grant, Adrian Girone, Aaron McCarroll-Richardson and Robert Ogbuli and the 1,600-meter relay contingent of Todd Beadle, Bo Koehn, Ryan Potter and Amitai Wheat acquired their seeds with school-record performances of 40.59 seconds and 3:12.22, respectively, at the Augustana College Twilight Invitational.
McCarroll-Richardson and Ogbuli were members of the Titans' fourth-place 400-meter relay team at the 2019 Division III Championship while Beadle and Wheat competed in the same meet as members of the school's 1,600-meter relay squad.
The alternate for UW-Oshkosh in the 400-meter relay is Joseph Kean.
Wartburg College is seeded first in the 400- and Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) first in the 1,600-meter relays with season-best times of 40.57 seconds and 3:10.82, respectively.
In 2019 UW-Oshkosh used six All-America performances to finish fourth at the Division III Championship with 32 points.
UW-Eau Claire tallied 68 points to win the 2019 NCAA title. The Blugolds were followed by second-place Massachusetts Institute of Technology with 38 points, third-place University of Mount Union (Ohio) with 36, UW-Oshkosh, and fifth-place John Carroll University (Ohio) with 29. University of Mount Union was the 2018 champion.
UW-Oshkosh captured the 2009 NCAA title and finished second nationally in 1990. The Titans also placed third at the Division III Championship in 2003 and 2013 and fourth in 2012, 2014 and 2019. UW-Oshkosh has scored at least five points at each of the last 26 national outdoor meets
The Titans have won 19 individual events at the Division III Championship.
Wartburg College enters this weekend's championship ranked first in the Division III Outdoor Track & Field Rating Index compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. UW-Oshkosh ranks second behind the Knights, UW-Eau Claire third, UW-La Crosse fourth and Rowan University fifth.
NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track & Field
NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship Program