Three Titans To Compete At NCAA Women's Track & Field Championships

Alexandria Demco and Ashton Keene will race in two events apiece while Katie Fruth throws in one for UW-Oshkosh at this weekend's National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Geneva, Ohio.

The 40th edition of the women'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 women's championships will be held in conjunction with the 48th chapter of the men's championships.

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

Demco, a senior, will participate in both the 800- and 1,500-meter runs for the Titans. She is seeded eighth in the 800-meter run with a season-best time of 2:10.31 from the Augustana College Twilight Qualifier held May 19 and fourth in the 1,500-meter run with a season-best performance of 4:27.14 from the Drake Relays held April 27.

Esther Seeland of Messiah College (Pa.) is seeded first in both the 800- and 1,500-meter runs with times of 2:03.66 and 4:18.28, respectively.

Demco finished fifth in the 1,500- and sixth in the 800-meter runs at last year's Division III Championships to earn All-America recognition in both events.

Keene, a senior, will represent UW-Oshkosh in both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs. She is seeded 20th in the 5,000-meter run with a season-best time of 16:57.27 from the UW-Platteville Invitational held April 15 and 12th in the 10,000-meter run with a school-record effort of 35:43.87 from the Washington University in St. Louis Distance Carnival held April 1.

Ella Baran of Johns Hopkins University (Md.) is seeded first in the 5,000- and Kassie Parker of Loras College (Iowa) first in the 10,000-meter runs with times of 15:49.09 and 33:03.61, respectively.

Fruth, a junior, will compete for the Titans in the shot put. She is seeded 11th in the event with a season-best measurement of 46-1 1/4 from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships held May 6-7 in Platteville.

UW-Platteville's Brianna Leahy is seeded first in the shot put with a throw of 50-4.

UW-Oshkosh finished seventh in the team standings at last year's Division III Championships in Greensboro, N.C., with 31 points. The performance was the Titans' highest since placing seventh at the 2015 championships.

Loras College (Iowa) scored 58 points in 2021 to win its second consecutive Division III outdoor title. UW-La Crosse finished second with 56 points while State University of New York at Geneseo placed third with 49, Ithaca College (N.Y.) fourth with 38.33 and Johns Hopkins University (Md.) fifth with 34.

Expected to battle for this year's team title are Johns Hopkins University, Loras College, State University of New York at Geneseo, UW-La Crosse and Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.).

UW-Oshkosh, which owns a division-record nine national outdoor championships, has now scored at least three points at 33 of the past 34 women's meets. The Titans claimed Division III titles in 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2011. UW-Oshkosh also has nine second-place finishes and a trio of third-place listings.

UW-Oshkosh finished 25th with nine 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)

4:35 p.m.: 1,500-Meter Run Preliminary • Alexandria Demco
7:30 p.m.: 10,000-Meter Run Final • Ashton Keene

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

1 p.m.: Shot Put Final • Katie Fruth
3 p.m.: 800-Meter Run Preliminary • Alexandria Demco

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

11:25 a.m.: 1,500-Meter Run Final • To be determined
12:50 p.m.: 800-Meter Run Final • To be determined
2 p.m.: 5,000-Meter Run Final • Ashton Keene

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

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