Thompson Leads Titans Into NCAA Championship

Sydney Thompson will participate in three events and both Alexandria Demco and Morgan Florek two apiece as UW-Oshkosh sends four competitors to this weekend's NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship in Greensboro, N.C.

The 39th edition 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 women's meet will be held in conjunction with the 47th chapter of the men's championship.

This year's women'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.

Thompson enters the championship seeded first in the shot put, third in the discus and 19th in the hammer throw. Demco is seeded seventh in the 1,500- and eighth in the 800-meter runs while Florek is seeded 14th in the discus and 18th in the shot put.

UW-Oshkosh's other participant for this weekend's national meet is Cara Volz. She is seeded 17th in the javelin.

Demco and Volz are both appearing at the Division III Championship for the second time. Demco was a member of the Titans' 1,600-meter relay team in 2019 while Volz competed in the triple jump in 2018.

Thompson and Florek are both making their inaugural appearance at the Division III Championship after transferring to UW-Oshkosh from Division II Minnesota State University, Mankato following the 2019 season.

The 2020 Division III Men's and Women's Championships were canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Thompson earned this weekend's top seed in the shot put with a winning measurement of 48-10 3/4 at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship held May 7-8. Megan Gehrke of University of St. Thomas (Minn.) is seeded second in the event with a season-best distance of 48-9.

In the discus, Thompson is seeded third following a winning mark of 153-0 at the WIAC Championship. Linnaea Konfrst of Nebraska Wesleyan University is the event's top seed with a season-best cast of 164-8.

Thompson is seeded 19th in the hammer throw with a measurement of 170-11 from the Augustana College Twilight Invitational held May 20. Thompson was a fifth-place finisher in the event at the WIAC Championship. Emily Uitenbroek of Carroll University is seeded first in the hammer throw competition with a season-best mark of 192-3.

Demco obtained the eighth seed in the 800-meter run following her time of 2:11.59 at the Augustana College Twilight Invitational. Messiah College's (Pa.) Esther Seeland is the event's top seed with a season-best time of 2:03.25.

In the 1,500-meter run, Demco is seeded seventh with a time of 4:32.81 from the Hillsdale College GINA Relays held April 22. Emily Pomainville of State University of New York at Geneseo is seeded first in the event with a season-best time of 4:22.47.

Demco won both the 800- and 1,500-meter runs at this year's WIAC Championship.

Florek is seeded 14th in the discus and 18th in the shot put with season-best measurements of 147-9 and 44-5 1/2, respectively. Florek earned both distances following her finishes of fifth in the discus and sixth in the shot put at the WIAC Championship.

Volz is seeded 17th in the javelin with a school-record throw of 136-5 from the Augustana College Twilight Invitational. Volz was a third-place finisher in the event at the WIAC Championship. Kathleen Merchant of St. Lawrence University (N.Y.) is seeded first in the javelin with a measurement of 151-8.

UW-Oshkosh, which owns a division-record nine national outdoor championships, has scored at least three points at 32 of the past 33 meets. The Titans claimed Division III titles in 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2011. UW-Oshkosh also has nine runner-up finishes and three third-place showings in program history.

The Titans have won 48 individual events and a pair of relays at the Division III Championship.

UW-La Crosse 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. Loras College (Iowa) ranks second behind the Eagles, State University of New York at Geneseo third, Ithaca College (N.Y.) fourth and UW-Eau Claire fifth. UW-Oshkosh ranks 14th in the ratings.

Loras College scored 53 points to win the 2019 Division III Championship. The Duhawks were followed by second-place Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) with 49 points, third-place George Fox University (Ore.) and Johns Hopkins University (Md.) with 36 apiece and fifth-place Nebraska Wesleyan University with 33. UW-Oshkosh finished 23rd with 10 points.

George Fox University shared the 2018 title with University of Massachusetts Boston while Washington University in St. Louis won the 2017 championship.

NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track & Field

NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships Program