 "Photo: Josh O'Bright")
The Titans women’s throwers dominated the Pointer Qualifier “Last Chance” indoor track and field meet at UW-Stevens Point Saturday, by taking first, second and third in both the shot put and weight throw.
Competing in the meet were athletes from many UW schools including Eau Claire, La Crosse, River Falls, Stout, Superior and Stevens Point.
Freshman Jecel Gerner won the shot put with a throw of 47-3 with senior Ellie Sitek coming in second and junior Holly Ozanich tying for third.
“It felt good to win again, but it was really nice having Holly and Ellie have personal bests again in shot put,” Gerner said. “I love to compete with my teammates.”
Titans head coach Pat Ebel recruited Gerner in high school and brought her on the team here at Oshkosh.
“She’s doing really good,” Ebel said. “As a freshman, we expected big things from her. And now she’s sitting second in the nation. We—knock on wood—could score some big points at nationals in the shot put.”
In the weight throw, Ozanich took first with a distance of 57-11.75. Sitek came in second with 54-4, and senior Sue Trzebiatowski followed close behind in third.
Junior sprinter Camille Davis won the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.10 seconds, breaking the school record for the third time this season.
“This weekend was very successful for me,” Davis said. “A 7.10 counts (as) an automatic qualification into nationals. This is my personal record.”
Ebel said he pushes Davis to her maximum every day and never lets her settle for less than her best. “Camille has been working extremely hard this year,” he said. “At this time last year, she wasn’t even close to being on the national list. Now she’s in position to become an All-American for the first time in her career. She is very deserving of this.”
A total of six Titans qualified for (a) Nationals on Saturday; Davis in the 55-meter dash and Gerner in the shot put while Ozanich, Trzebiatowksi and Sitek marked long enough throws in both the shot put and weight throw.
“We will put a fight up for national champ spot this year,” Gerner said. “Camille Davis is running amazing, and the whole throws team is really close. We’re like a family.”
The Titans leave Wednesday for Greencastle, Ind., where they will be participating in the NCAA Division III National Championship at DePauw University Friday, March 12 and Saturday March 13.
Be the first to comment on this article!