No. 7 Titans Set to Return to UW-La Crosse

OSHKOSH, Wis.- For the third time this outdoor season, the No. 7 nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh men's track and field team will return to UW-La Crosse, competing in the Eagle Open on Friday (May 12).

Team National Ranking

UWO moved up four spots to No. 7 in the USTFCCCA's weekly national poll. WIAC competitors UW-La Crosse (No. 1), UW-Eau Claire (No. 5), UW-Whitewater (No. 8) and UW-Platteville (No. 12) join the Titans in Week Seven's Top -25 poll.

#EventSquad Rankings

The Titans rank second in the pole vault this week with an average height of 15' 0.5" (4.59m). The squad is made up of senior Eli Tranel, sophomore Zach Zirgibel, junior RJ Bosshart, and freshman Matthew Ewens. Also sitting in second is the decathlon squad (Charlie Nolan, Bosshart, Aden Sears, Payton White), averaging 6,380 points. Ranking third nationally is the 100-meter run squad, averaging 10.64 seconds. Senior Jaylen Grant, junior Joey Kean, senior Denzel Thomas and Bosshart are the four runners that make up the squad. The first of two squads that are fourth in this week's poll is the 200-meter dash squad with an average time of 21.60 seconds. Junior Rashaad Henderson, sophomore Londyn Little, junior Jaylin Boatman and graduate student Aaron Richardson are all members of the squad. Sophomore Caleb Cornelius, Nolan, Sears and Ewens combine for an average height of 6' 4.75" (1.95m) in the high jump. Ranking fifth is the long jump crew (sophomore AK Toheeb-Lawal, junior Diego Villalobos, and freshmen Caleb Wright and Elijah McCauley) with an average 22' 10.5" (6.97m) jump. Senior Steven Potter, sophomore Ryan Potter, sophomore Dwight Hosni and junior Reid Marquardt average a 1:53.04 in the 800-meter run, the eighth-fastest finish in the nation this season. The final top-10 #EventSquad of the week is the 400-meter hurdle squad. Senior John Ford, junior Elijah Pena, sophomore Weston Lerdal and Marquardt are ninth with a 55.40 second average.

Individual National Rankings and Conference Leaders

Senior Jonathan Wilburn is second in the nation in the triple jump with a 50' 8.75" (15.46m) mark, which also leads the conference.

Nolan's 6,724 points in the decathlon sits second in both the nation and conference as well as second in program history. Also in the top-10 in the decathlon are Bosshart in seventh (6,604 points) and Sears in ninth (6,553 points).

Tranel is currently sixth nationally and first in the WIAC, with a 16' 4/75" (5.00m) pole vault mark.

In the high jump, Cornelius sits eighth nationally with a best jump of 6' 9" (2.06m).

Steven Potter is 10th in the nation and the WIAC leader in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:47.21. Potter also leads the conference with a 1:51.00 in the 800-meter run.

Last Week's Highlights

UWO finished second in the WIAC Outdoor Championships in Whitewater last weekend (May 5-6), scoring 150 points.

The 4x100-meter relay squad successfully defended their title from last year and set the Rex Foster Track Complex record at 41.04 seconds, besting Buffalo State's 41.11 second time in 2010. Steven Potter won the 1,500-meter run for the second time in three years with a time of 3:56.82. Oshkosh grabbed the top spot in the 200-meter run with a title time of 21.63 second by Little. Taking second place and an All-WIAC Second Team nod in the 110-meter hurdles was Sears in 14.43 seconds; the fastest time in school history by a whole tenth of a second. Wilburn became the first triple jumper from any WIAC school to win the event at the outdoor conference meet for three consecutive years with a 50' 8.75" (15.46m) skip. He has combined for seven triple jump crowns between the indoor and outdoor seasons, the most in WIAC history. Wilburn entered the meet tied at six titles with Ajamu Olaniyan, who competed for UW-La Crosse between 1989 and 1992. Nolan moved the second all-time on the UWO decathlon leaderboard when he scored 6,724 points for a second-place finish at conference. After the meet, Steven Potter was named to the Larry Zirgibel All-Sportsmanship Team.

Where the Titans are Competing

The Titans are headed to UW-La Crosse on Friday (May 12) to compete in the Eagle Open. The meet is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.