Looking to sweep the league's indoor and outdoor titles for the first time since 1971, the UW-Oshkosh men's track and field team finished third at the WIAC Outdoor Championship held Friday and Saturday (May 4-5) in Whitewater.

UW-La Crosse scored 238 points to win its 11th straight WIAC outdoor title, while UW-Stevens Point finished second with 165 points, UW-Oshkosh third with 133 and UW-Platteville fourth with 83.5. Last March, UW-Oshkosh won the WIAC indoor championship, edging second-place UW-La Crosse, 184-170.5.

En route to finishing third at the WIAC Outdoor Championship for the fourth consecutive year, UW-Oshkosh claimed two event champions as sophomore Matt Groose won the 1,500 meter run and senior Aaron Nett the decathlon. Groose won the 1,500 meter run with a WIAC-record time of 3:51.43, while Nett scored 6,336 points to win the decathlon for the third straight year.

Finishing second in events for the Titans were junior Ryan Dahmen with a time of 14.93 in the 110 meter hurdles, Groose with a time of 1:53.89 in the 800 meter run, senior Courtney Powell with a time of 10.84 in the 100 meter dash and freshman Kevin Deering and senior Joe Nigrelli with leaps of 6-4 1/4 in the high jump.

Third-place efforts for the Titans belonged to senior Joe Mostofi with a toss of 51-1 1/2 in the shot put, senior Wes Shaughnessy with a time of 3:55.20 in the 1,500 meter run and freshman Jon Zweiger with a time of 15.11 in the 100 meter hurdles. UW-Oshkosh also placed third in the 400 meter relay with a time of 41.87.

UW-Oshkosh's largest scoring output came in the 100 meter dash, where the Titans tallied 20 points. UW-Oshkosh also counted 17 points in both the 1,500 meter run and decathlon events.

Senior Shannon King accounted for 24 points and spirited the UW-Oshkosh men's track and field team to a second-place finish at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championship held Friday and Saturday (March 9-10) in Kolf Sports Center. The second-place finish was the second for the Titans at the meet in the past three years and their fifth overall ranking in the top 10.

UW-La Crosse, one of 70 schools represented at the meet, scored 58 points to win its NCAA Division III-record eighth indoor championship. The Eagles flew to their title with the aid of two event champions and five other top-six event finishes. UW-Oshkosh, behind seven top-six event finishes, placed second with 44 points, while defending champion Lincoln University finished third with 38. The top five teams were completed by fourth-place University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with 34 points and fifth-place Wheaton College (Mass.) with 25. UW-Oshkosh's point total was the highest at the meet in school history, surpassing the 37-point count in 1999.

King's meet-high 24 points featured a first-place finish in the high jump with a leap of 6-11 3/4, a second-place finish in the triple jump with a performance of 49-9 3/4 and a third-place finish in the long jump with an effort of 24-2 1/4. In 1999, King won the high jump and triple jump events at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championship.

UW-Oshkosh also placed in four other events as the distance medley relay team ran to a second-place time of 10:05.09, sophomore Matt Groose ran to a third-place time of 3:52.46 in the 1,500 meter run, senior Chris McKenna ran to a fourth-place time of 1:53.43 in the 800 meter run and senior Jeremy Dobbe tossed the 35 pound weight to a fifth-place distance of 57-5 1/2. Members of the distance medley relay squad were senior Paul Chellevold, senior Joe Kelsey, Chris McKenna and senior Wes Shaughnessy.

Also representing UW-Oshkosh at the NCAA Division III Indoor championship were Groose in the 800 meter run, Kelsey in the 800 meter run, junior Phil Keskinen in the 5,000 meter run, Chris McKenna in the 800 meter run, sophomore Eamon McKenna in the 5,000 meter run, senior Joe Nigrelli in the high jump, senior Courtney Powell in the 55 meter dash and and Shaughnessy in the 1,500 meter run.

Announced as award winners by the United States Track Coaches Association (USTCA) at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championship were King and assistant coach John Zupanc. King was named the Outstanding Field Athlete of the 2001 NCAA Division III Indoor Championship, while Zupanc was named the 2001 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year.

Aided by a pair of top-four finishes in seven events and a top-three finish in six others, the UW-Oshkosh men's track and field team won the WIAC Indoor Championship held Friday and Saturday (March 2-3) in Stevens Point. The indoor crown was the second for the Titans in the past three years and the fifth overall.

UW-Oshkosh scored 184 points to edge second-place and defending champion UW-La Crosse's total of 170.50. Host UW-Stevens Point finished third with 130 points, while UW-Eau Claire finished fourth with 57, UW-Stout fifth with 55.17, UW-Whitewater sixth with 51.33, UW-Platteville seventh with 46 and UW-Superior eighth with 1. UW-Oshkosh's margin of victory was the sixth closest in the 33-year history of the meet.

UW-Oshkosh claimed five event titles, including a pair by Shannon King. The senior won the high jump with a height of 6-9 and the triple jump with a leap of 48-10 1/4. His efforts at meet also included a second-place leap of 23-0 3/4 in the long jump and an eighth-place time of 8.62 in the 55 meter hurdles.

Other event titles for the Titans belonged to senior Aaron Nett with 4.893 points in the heptathlon, sophomore Matt Groose with a time of 3:52.27 in the 1,500 meter run and the distance medley relay team of seniors Paul Chellevold, Chris McKenna, Joe Kelsey and Wes Shaughnessy which turned in a winning time of 10:03.95. Groose also added a second-place time of 1:54.31 in the 800 meter run, Shaughnessy a second-place time of 3:54.34 in the 1,500 meter run, Nett a third-place height of 6-7 in the high jump and Kelsey a fourth-place time of 1:55.79 in the 800 meter run.

UW-Oshkosh's top-four performances were rounded out individually by junior Ryan Dahmen's second-place time of 7.78 seconds in the 55 meter hurdles, senior Jeremy Dobbe's fourth-place toss of 55-10 1/2 in the 35 pound weight throw, junior Phil Keskinen's second-place time of 8:32.40 in the 3,000 meter run and third-place time of 14:56.41 in the 5,000 meter run, sophomore Eamon McKenna's third-place the times of 8:35.44 in the 3,000 meter run and 14:55.56 in the 5,000 meter run, senior Joe Mostofi's fourth-place toss of 51-6 1/4 in the shot put, senior Courtney Powell's second-place time of 6.46 in the 55 meter dash, and freshman Jon Zweiger's second-place finishes of 7.89 seconds in the 55 meter hurdles and 4,646 points in the heptathlon. The Titans also posted third-place times of 1:31.16 in the 800 meter relay and 3:22.89 in the 1,600 meter relay.

UW-Oshkosh's Bruce Coleman was named WIAC Indoor Coach of the Year for guiding the Titans to the league championship, an honor he also received in 1999.