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More information on the Titan Hall of Fame banquet to be held May 4.

Of all the sports at UW Oshkosh, none is more decorated than women’s track and field. For the past 22 years, head coach Deb Vercauteren has built a legacy of successful indoor and outdoor track and field teams which have earned a combined 21 conference titles and 14 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III titles.

The team’s success would not have been possible without the dedication of excellence-driven individuals like Tara Jaeger, Vercauteren said.

Winning back-to-back NCAA Division III titles in the long jump and earning 11 All-American titles in indoor and outdoor track and field from 1993 to 1997, Jaeger is one of the many athletes who have helped to build Vercauteren’s winning tradition.

Jaeger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from UW Oshkosh in 1998 and a Master of Science in Education in 2002.

Attracted to UW Oshkosh by the women’s gymnastics program, the Fond du Lac native decided early in her freshman year that her athletic experience at Oshkosh would take her on a different track – one that ended in field.

Making her mark as a rookie, Jaeger earned top conference honors in the indoor triple jump and All-American status on the outdoor 400-meter relay team. She also contributed to the team’s sixth consecutive indoor conference title.

In 1994, Jaeger built on the success of her triple jump career and earned 6th place and All-American honors at the indoor NCAA Division III championship. This individual success helped the Titans to the team title at indoor nationals. Jaeger also claimed the outdoor conference triple jump title and helped the Titans win the outdoor conference team title.

Buying into Vercauteren’s winning mentality that an athlete should never settle for less than their best, Jaeger set a school record with a jump of 18’-10” to win her first of two indoor NCAA Division III long jump titles and earned second place in the national triple jump competition in 1995. She also took indoor conference titles in both the long and triple jumps to earn the title of Outstanding Field Athlete at the conference championship.

Clinching consecutive indoor national and conference long jump titles and a third consecutive national team title in 1996, Jaeger credits much of her jumping success to former assistant coach Evan Perkins.

With two years of eligibility left in the outdoor season, Jaeger earned All-American titles in long jump, triple jump and the 400-meter relay; conference titles in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, long jump and 400-meter relay; and school records in the 100-meter dash, long jump, and 400-meter relay. These accolades were grounds for Jaeger’s nomination as the 1997 NCAA Division III Athlete of the Year. Both conference and team titles followed Jaeger’s individual achievements in both 1996 and 1997.

Carrying the focus, discipline and leadership skills learned at UW Oshkosh into her classroom, Jaeger has become a successful and respected 7th grade mathematics teacher at Sabish Middle School in Fond du Lac. She also coached track and field at both Campbellsport and Fond du Lac High School.

Jaeger is married to Joel Jaeger, who ran on the men’s track and field team under current head coach John Zupanc. As if the Jaegers didn’t do enough running in college, they are kept on the run by their three-year-old son Miles, who with the endurance of his father and speed and power of his mother is predicted to dominate in future steeplechase competitions.
More information on the Titan Hall of Fame banquet to be held May 4.

Of all the sports at UW Oshkosh, none is more decorated than women’s track and field. For the past 22 years, head coach Deb Vercauteren has built a legacy of successful indoor and outdoor track and field teams which have earned a combined 21 conference titles and 14 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III titles.

The team’s success would not have been possible without the dedication of excellence-driven individuals like Tara (Jaeger) Jaeger, Vercauteren said.

Winning back-to-back NCAA Division III titles in the long jump and earning 11 All-American titles in indoor and outdoor track and field from 1993 to 1997, Jaeger is one of the many athletes who have helped to build Vercauteren’s winning tradition.

Attracted to UW Oshkosh by the women’s gymnastics program, the Fond du Lac native decided early in her freshman year that her athletic experience at Oshkosh would take her on a different track – one that ended in field.

Making her mark as a rookie, Jaeger earned top conference honors in the indoor triple jump and All-American status on the outdoor 400-meter relay team. She also contributed to the team’s sixth consecutive indoor conference title.

In 1994, Jaeger built on the success of her triple jump career and earned 6th place and All-American honors at the indoor NCAA Division III championship. This individual success helped the Titans to the team title at indoor nationals. Jaeger also claimed the outdoor conference triple jump title and helped the Titans win the outdoor conference team title.

Buying into Vercauteren’s winning mentality that an athlete should never settle for less than their best, Jaeger set a school record with a jump of 18’-10” to win her first of two indoor NCAA Division III long jump titles and earned second place in the national triple jump competition in 1995. She also took indoor conference titles in both the long and triple jumps to earn the title of Outstanding Field Athlete at the conference championship.

Clinching consecutive indoor national and conference long jump titles and a third consecutive national team title in 1996, Jaeger credits much of her jumping success to former assistant coach Evan Perkins.

With two years of eligibility left in the outdoor season, Jaeger earned All-American titles in long jump, triple jump and the 400-meter relay; conference titles in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, long jump and 400-meter relay; and school records in the 100-meter dash, long jump, and 400-meter relay. These accolades were grounds for Jaeger’s nomination as the 1997 NCAA Division III Athlete of the Year. Both conference and team titles followed Jaeger’s individual achievements in both 1996 and 1997.

Carrying the focus, discipline and leadership skills learned at UW Oshkosh into her classroom, Jaeger has become a successful and respected 7th grade mathematics teacher at Sabish Middle School in Fond du Lac. She also coached track and field at both Campbellsport and Fond du Lac High School.

Jaeger is married to Joel Jaeger, who ran on the men’s track and field team under current head coach John Zupanc. As if the Jaegers didn’t do enough running in college, they are kept on the run by their three-year-old son Miles, who with the endurance of his father and speed and power of his mother is predicted to dominate in future steeplechase competitions.

More information on the Titan Hall of Fame banquet to be held May 4.