The UW-Oshkosh women’s indoor track and field team came in at third place at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meet, thanks to big production from junior sprinter Camille Davis and the throwing events.
The Titans, who scored 118.5 points, placed behind UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse, who won their fourth conference title in a row.
Nearly half of the 118.5 points came from the shot put and 20 lb.-throw events when the Titans took the top four spots in each event.
Senior Ellie Sitek won the shot put with a throw of 45-10 ¾ with junior Holly Ozanich, senior Sue Trzebiatowski and freshman Jecel Gerner sweeping the other top spots.
Ozanich delivered again in the weight throw with a winning throw of 58-8 followed by Trzebiatowski, Sitek and sophomore Kayla Oberstadt.
Ozanich’s throw was only .75 inches farther than Trzebiatowski and she was nervous when it came down to the wire.
“I am always nervous about someone stepping up and beating me in the weight throw,” Ozanich said. “The win is never going to just be handed to me so I need to do everything I can to make sure that I have the farthest throw, even if that means beating a teammate.”
The members of the throwing squad often compete with each other, and not opponents, for the top spots in meets.
“It always seems to be someone from Oshkosh battling for the top spots,” Ozanich said. “And there are usually other Oshkosh throwers up there that you have to compete against. I think we all push to beat each other and that’s what makes it so fun.”
Davis started the day by placing third in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.18, tying her own personal and school record. In the event Davis, but expected more after being seeded first.
“The 55-meter dash was devastating,” she said. “I went in with the mentality that I would win it or come in second place. When I saw I got third I was extremely disappointed in myself, but I knew that third place was something to celebrate as well.”
The race was very competitive with the top three runners all finishing within less than .5 seconds of each other.
While the 55 was a tight race, Davis came back out and won the 200-meter dash by a wide margin, defeating UW-Platteville’s Carshella Porter by almost a full second.
“I was so excited when I saw the time on the board and I was so surprised,” Davis said of her time, which was a new personal best. “Winning a conference race meant so much to me. That is what I planned on doing, and I fought until I achieved that goal.”
The Titans’ next points didn’t come until senior Jordan Clark-Mand’s sixth-place finish in the one-mile run.
The 3,000-meter run resulted in five points for Oshkosh when juniors Allison Gehl and Janelle Brooks finished in sixth and seventh place, respectively.
Another pair of juniors, Mallory Burk and Cassie Petersen, finished in seventh and eighth place, respectively, in the 5,000 meter run giving the Titans three more points.
The 4x200 meter relay team consisting of freshmen Kayleigh Nichols and Michele Broeker, junior Chelsea Benitz and sophomore anchor Lisha Hanson picked up five points after a fourth-place finish.
Oshkosh received more points in the distance relays after a sixth-place finish in the 4x400 meter relay and a seventh-place finish in the distance medley.
The 4x400 was run by junior Beth Hebl, sophomore Hilary Kopczenski, Nichols and Davis.
Freshman Kristin Stockheimer, juniors Heather Bassett and Brittany Haas and senior Sarah Roswell made up the medley squad.
Roswell was also named to the WIAC All-Sportsmanship team.
The Titans earned 13 points in the pole vault thanks to two top-five finishes by sophomores Danielle Carrigan and Hanson.
Nichols stepped up for her team again by placing fourth in the long jump and picking up five points.
The Titans have two more meets to improve their scores and qualify for the Division III Championship meet on March 12 and 13 at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.
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