Titans Listed Among Contenders For NCAA Men's Track & Field Title

With contestants in nine of the meet's 21 events, UW-Oshkosh is listed among the contenders for the men's team title at this weekend's National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Geneva, Ohio.

The 48th version of the men's championships will be held Thursday through Saturday (May 26-28) at the SPIRE Institute. Activity begins Thursday at 9:30 a.m. (CDT), Friday at 9 a.m. and Saturday at 10 a.m. The men's championships will be held in conjunction with the 40th edition of the women's championships.

This year's men's championships feature 22 entrants in each of the 19 individual events and 16 participants in both two relays. The top-eight finishers in each event earn All-America honors.

Last year, UW-Oshkosh earned All-America performances in nine events to finish third at the Division III Championships held in Greensboro, N.C. The Titans accumulated 48 points to mark the 27th consecutive Division III outdoor meet that they had scored at least five points. UW-Oshkosh captured the 2009 Division III outdoor title and finished second nationally in 1990 and third in 2003, 2013 and 2021.

Wartburg College (Iowa) scored 54 points at the 2021 Division III Championships to win its first national outdoor title. Defending champion UW-Eau Claire finished second to the Knights with 49 points while UW-Oshkosh placed third, Rowan University (N.J.) fourth with 41 and UW-La Crosse fifth with 39.

Expected to battle for this year's team title are Benedictine University (Ill.), John Carroll University (Ohio), Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (Calif.), Rowan University, UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh and Wartburg College.

UW-Oshkosh will be represented by 14 men this weekend in Ohio, including senior Steven Potter who will perform in both the 800- and 1,500-meter runs.

Potter is seeded sixth in the 800-meter run with a season-best time of 1:49.51 from the University of St. Francis Fighting Chance Meet held May 13 and 13th in the 1,500-meter run with a season-best performance of 3:47.71 from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships held May 6-7 in Platteville.

Mike Jasa of Loras College is seeded first in the 5,000- and Ezra Ruggles of State University of New York at Geneseo first in the 10,000-meter runs with times of 1:48.70 and 3:44.90, respectively.

Potter finished fourth in the 800-meter run at last year's championships to earn All-America recognition.

Junior Jaylen Grant and seniors Aaron McCarroll-Richardson and Robert Ogbuli will compete for the Titans in both the 100-meter dash and 400-meter relay.

Grant is seeded seventh in the 100-meter dash with a school-record time of 10.37 seconds while McCarroll-Richardson is eighth at 10.40 and Ogbuli 10th at 10.41. All three Titans earned their season-best times at the WIAC Championships.

UW-La Crosse's Sam Blaskowski is seeded first in the event with a time of 10.14 seconds.

Grant placed second in the 100-meter dash at the 2021 championship to collect All-America accolades.

In the 400-meter relay, Grant, McCarroll-Richardson, Ogbuli and sophomore Joseph Kean earned the event's second seed with their school-record time of 40.19 seconds from the Augustana College Twilight Qualifier held May 19.

Benedictine University is seeded first in the relay with a time of 40.17 seconds.

McCarroll-Richardson and Ogbuli helped UW-Oshkosh finish fourth in the 400-meter relay at the 2019 championship and second in 2021. Grant also was a member of the Titans' 2021 400-meter relay squad that acquired All-America mention for the second time in three years.

UW-Oshkosh will have a pair of seniors competing in the shot put as Jackson Sheckler is seeded eighth with a season-best measurement of 54-1 1/4 from the UW-Whitewater Drake Alternative Meet held April 29 and Nick Tegtmeier 11th with a season-best throw of 53-6 1/2 from the UW-La Crosse Eagle Open held May 13.

UW-Stout's Kevin Ruechel is seeded first in the event with a distance of 60-0 1/4.

Sheckler finished sixth in the shot put at the 2019 championship and third in 2021 to pick up All-America citations.

Other individual qualifiers for the Titans are freshman Caleb Cornelius, junior Eli Tranel and senior Jonathan Wilburn.

Cornelius is seeded 13th in the high jump with a season-best leap of 6-8 3/4 from the WIAC Championships. Kyle Rollins of St. John Fisher College (N.Y.) is seeded first in the event with a height of 6-11 1/2.

Tranel is ranked fourth in the pole vault with a season-best height of 16-5 1/4 from the UW-La Crosse Final NCAA Qualifier held May 19. Luka Srsic from Massachusetts Institute of Technology is seeded first in the event with a mark of 16-7 1/4.

Wilburn, who earned All-America honors with his finishes of second in the triple jump at the 2019 championship and fourth in 2021, is seeded 17th in the event this year with a season-best measurement of 48-2 3/4 from the WIAC Outdoor Championships.

Rollins of St. John Fisher College is seeded first in the event with a skip of 49-7.

UW-Oshkosh's 1,600-meter relay unit of sophomore Rashaad Henderson, juniors Bo Koehn and Ryan Potter, and senior Amitai Wheat is seeded fourth with a school-record time of 3:12.07 from the Augustana College Twilight Qualifier.

University of Dubuque (Iowa) is seeded first in the relay with a time of 3:10.85.

UW-Oshkosh finished 10th with 25 points at the 2022 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships held March 11-12 in Winston-Salem, N.C.

UW-Oshkosh Schedule of Events • Thursday, May 26 (Central Daylight Time)

4:25 p.m.: 400-Meter Relay Preliminary • Jaylen Grant, Joseph Kean, Aaron McCarroll-Richardson, Robert Ogbuli
4:50 p.m.: 1,500-Meter Run Preliminary • Steven Potter
7:15 p.m.: 1,600-Meter Relay Preliminary • Rashaad Henderson, Bo Koehn, Londyn Little, Amitai Wheat

UW-Oshkosh Schedule of Events • Friday, May 27 (Central Daylght Time)

10:30 a.m.: Shot Put Final • Jackson Sheckler, Nick Tegtmeier
1 p.m.: High Jump Final • Caleb Cornelius
2:45 p.m.: 100-Meter Dash Preliminary • Jaylen Grant, Aaron McCarroll-Richardson, Robert Ogbuli
3 p.m.: 800-Meter Run Preliminary • Steven Potter

UW-Oshkosh Schedule of Events • Saturday, May 28 (Central Daylight Time)

10 a.m.: Triple Jump Final • Jonathan Wilburn
11 a.m.: Pole Vault Final • Eli Tranel
11:15 a.m.: 400-Meter Relay Final • To be determined
11:35 a.m.: 1,500-Meter Run Final • To be determined
12:40 p.m.: 100-Meter Dash Final • To be determined
1 p.m.: 800-Meter Run Final • To be determined
3 p.m.: 1,600-Meter Relay Final • To be determined

2022 NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships Qualifiers

2022 NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships Digital Program