Pete Delzer, a sophomore from Oconto Falls, won the 35-pound weight throw and placed seventh in the shot put as the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh finished fourth at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship held March 11-12 in Columbus, Ohio.
Delzer defeated 13 other participants in the 35-pound weight throw with a winning and season-best distance of 64-3 3/4. He also finished seventh among 13 entrants in the shot put with a throw of 52-7 1/4.
Tony Baker, a senior from Oshkosh, matched Delzer’s multiple All-America efforts by finishing fifth in the shot put with a distance of 54-0 1/2 and eighth in the 35-pound weight throw with a mark of 61-8 1/4. Baker earned All-America honors at last year’s meet with a third-place distance of 61-5 in the 35-pound weight throw.
UW Oshkosh also benefited from the individual performances of Nick Baatz, a sophomore from Brownsville, Ben Ludtke, a junior from Lyons, and Alan German, a junior from West Bend. Baatz finished third in the shot put with a distance of 54-9 1/4, while Ludtke placed fourth in the 35-pound weight throw with a mark of 63-5 and German eighth in the pentathlon with 3,473 points.
The Titans were prominent in the relays as John Cejka, a sophomore from Wausau, led a pair of All-America listings. In the distance medley relay, Cejka, Brett DeNure, a sophomore from Monroe, Nate Stymiest, a junior from Oconto Falls, and Ben Wizner, a senior from Onalaska, finished second with a time of 10:01.12. The 1,600-meter relay featured Cejka, David Edwards, a senior from Waterford, Chris Lipke, a senior from Wautoma, and Corey Wilch, a freshman from Waukesha, placing fourth with a time of 3:19.64.
Defending champion North Central College, located in Illinois, amassed 45 points in the team standings to edge Central College, located in Iowa, by one point. The top-four squads were each separated by a point as UW-La Crosse finished third with 43 points and UW Oshkosh fourth with 42. UW Oshkosh, which shared the 2009 NCAA Division III title with UW-La Crosse, finished fourth at last year’s meet with 31 points.
Completing the list of teams finishing in the top 10 were fifth-place Buffalo State College, located in New York, with 19 points, sixth-place Amherst College, located in Massachusetts, with 18, seventh-place Bates College, located in Maine, with 17, eighth-place Washington University, located in Missouri, with 16, ninth-place Springfield College, located in Massachusetts, with 15 and 10th-place UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater with 14. A total of 67 teams scored points at this year’s championship.
The meet featured 15 events, with the top eight finishers in each category collecting All-America status. The top four teams collected a trophy.
The Titans begin their outdoor season by hosting the UW Oshkosh Invitational on April 2 at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
Kennan Timm, athletic department, submitted this announcement. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to contribute calendar items, campus announcements and other good news to UW Oshkosh Today.