2000 UW-Oshkosh Women's Cross Country News

Titans Place Fourth At NCAA Championship

Competing at the event as a team entrant for the 15th consecutive year, UW-Oshkosh finished fourth at the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championship held Saturday (Nov. 18) at the Wandemere Golf Course in Spokane, Wash.

Middlebury College placed all five of its scorers in the top-65 finishes to compile 103 points and claim its first NCAA Division III title. Williams College finished second with 123 points, while Luther College finished third with 196 points, UW-Oshkosh fourth with 199 and Moravian College fifth with 218. UW-Oshkosh has now recorded 12 top-four finishes among its 17 appearances at the NCAA Division III Championship, including national titles won in 1987, 1988, 1991 and 1996.

Senior Darlene Amelse was the lone UW-Oshkosh athlete to gain All-America accolades. Amelse, an All-American in 1998, finished 23rd in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 18:33. Other scorers for the Titans were 40th-place Sara Holewinski (18:48), 42nd-place Elizabeth Woodworth (18:49), 107th-place Jackie Munoz (19:25) and 108th-place Sue Hardtke (19:25). Johanna Olson of Luther College outdistanced a contingent of 211 runners who completed the race by posting a winning time of 17:54.

Concluding UW-Oshkosh's representatives at the NCAA Division III Championship were 145th-place Tovah Mendoza (19:42) and 153rd-place Sara Bailie (19:48).

Titans To Make 15th Straight NCAA Championship Appearance

UW-Oshkosh won the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championship for the 14th time in 15 years following Saturday's (Nov. 11) first-place finish at the 31-team event held in Colfax.

The Titans placed all five of their scorers in the top-26 finishes to win the Midwest Regional title with 87 points. UW-Stevens Point finished second with 101 points, Elmhurst College third with 132, Washington University fourth with 137 and the University of Chicago fifth with 142. The top five teams at the Midwest Regional advance to next Saturday's NCAA Division III Championship in Spokane, Wash. UW-Oshkosh will be making its 15th straight appearance as a team entrant at the NCAA Division III Championship, the longest current streak by any school in the country.

Individually, UW-Oshkosh was led by senior Darlene Amelse, who completed the 5,000-meter course in a sixth-place time of 18:30. Other scorers for the Titans were 12th-place Sara Holewinski (18:38), 19th-place Elizabeth Woodworth (18:56), 24th-place Sara Bailie (19:10) and 26th-place Susan Hardtke (19:12). Rounding out UW-Oshkosh's competitors at the Midwest Regional were 35th-place Tovah Mendoza (19:21) and 43rd-place Jackie Munoz (19:29). Jennie Markanich of Elmhurst College won the individual title with a time of 17:59.

UW-Oshkosh makes its 17th appearance at the NCAA Division III Championship after finishing sixth in 1999, third in 1998 and fourth in 1997. The Titans won NCAA Division III titles in 1987, 1988, 1991 and 1996.

Titans Claim 15th Straight WIAC Title

The UW-Oshkosh women's cross country team continued its domination of league opponents by winning the WIAC Championship held Saturday (Oct. 28) in Whitewater. The title was the 15th straight for the Titans, marking the longest consecutive string of championships in any sport in WIAC history.

UW-Oshkosh, placing all five of its scorers in the top-15 finishes, compiled a winning score of 43 points. UW-Stevens Point finished second with 53 points, while UW-La Crosse was third with 74.

Senior Darlene Amelse, who finished second the previous two years, led UW-Oshkosh with a third-place time of 18:16.0 on the 5,000-meter course. She was followed by teammate Sara Holewinski, who placed fourth with a time of 18:19.3. Other scorers for the Titans were 10th-place Elizabeth Woodworth (18:50.9), 11th-place Susan Hardtke (18:52.8) and 15th-place Jackie Munoz (19:03.8). Leah Juno of UW-Stevens Point won the race with a time of 18:01.7.

Also competing for UW-Oshkosh at the WIAC Championship were 18th-place Tovah Mendoza, 22nd-place Sara Bailie, 25th-place Katie Isermann, 16th-place Denise Bork, 40th-place Rosette Buening, 55th-place Samantha Massano and 74th-place Renee Pilon.

UW-Oshkosh began its string of conference championships in 1986. During that time the Titans have had nine individual champions and a pair of second-place finishers.