Titans Cited For Academic Excellence

In addition to finishing fourth at the NCAA Division III Championship last fall, the 2002 UW-Oshkosh women's cross country team also performed admirably in the classroom.

The NCAA Division III Cross Country Coaches Association has announced its 2002 Academic Honor Roll, with UW-Oshkosh ranking 58th in the list of 110 schools that compiled a team roster of a 3.10 cumulative grade point average or higher for the fall semester. The honor roll recognizes the nation's highest team grade point averages based upon nominations submitted by NCAA Division III coaches.

Grade point averages are calculated by dividing the total number of quality points earned by each student-athlete on an institution's squad list in the given academic term by the total number of hours earned by the team. The grade point averages are rounded to the nearest thousandth of a point.

In NCAA Division III classrooms, State University of New York-New Paltz registered a top cumulative grade point of 3.83. Waynesburg College (Pa.) had the second-best cumulative grade point average at 3.82. UW-Oshkosh's cumulative grade point average of 3.37 was the highest among the nine schools affiliated with the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).

Individually, UW-Oshkosh's Katie Isermann (Jr. • West Allis) was cited for her 3.51 cumulative grade point average.

Titans Finish Fourth At NCAA Regional

Despite a spirited effort, perhaps even its best performance of the year, the UW-Oshkosh women's cross country team fell short in its bid to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championship after finishing fourth at the Midwest Regional held Saturday (Nov. 16) in Peoria, Ill. Washington University (Mo.) won the 34-team meet with 112 points, while UW-La Crosse finished second with 128 points, Elmhurst College (Ill.) third with 129, UW-Oshkosh fourth with 178 and UW-Stevens Point fifth with 185. The top-three teams in the Midwest Regional standings will join qualifiers from seven other regions at next Saturday's (Nov. 23) NCAA Division III Championship in Northfield, Minn. UW-Oshkosh, which failed to qualify as a team for the NCAA Division III Championship for the first time since 1985, had all five of its scorers at the Midwest Regional place among the top-52 individual finishes. Renee Pilon (Jr. • Waukesha) paced UW-Oshkosh by finishing 14th with a time of 22:10, while teammates Katie Isermann (Jr. • West Allis) and Emily Steinhafel (Fr. • West Bend) placed 33rd in 22:41 and 37th in 22:44, respectively. Steph Hood of Principia College (Ill.) won the 6,000-meter race with a time of 20:57. Completing UW-Oshkosh's scoring were Erin Meinen's (So. • Cedar Grove) 47th-place time of 23:03 and Tovah Mendoza's (Sr. • Appleton) 52nd-place time of 23:06. Also running at the Midwest Regional for the Titans, the 18th-ranked team in the NCAA Division III were 77th-place Jessica Linberts (Fr. • Fort Atkinson) and 96th-place Kristy Giljohann (Fr. • Brookfield). A total of 237 runners finished the race. UW-Oshkosh, which claimed NCAA Division III championships in 1987, 1988, 1991 and 1996, finished eighth in the country last year and fourth in 2000. The Titans competed this year without Elizabeth Woodworth and Jackie Munoz, who both received medical redshirts this season after gaining All-America status in 2001.

Titans Finish Third At WIAC Championship

Renee Pilon (Jr. • Waukesha) finished third individually to lead the UW-Oshkosh women's cross country team to a third-place ranking at the WIAC Championship held Saturday (Nov. 2) at Memorial Park in Platteville. UW-La Crosse totaled 45 points to successfully defend its league championship, while UW-Stevens Point finished second with 72 points, UW-Oshkosh third with 88, UW-Eau Claire fourth with 101, UW-River Falls fifth with 138, UW-Whitewater sixth with 164, UW-Stout seventh with 179, UW-Superior eighth with 197 and UW-Platteville ninth with 235. UW-Oshkosh's third-place finish was its lowest at the WIAC event since 1985, but the standing may be remarkable when considering that the Titans' top-two runners at last year's meet (second-place Elizabeth Woodworth and third-place Jackie Munoz) were unable to compete this season due to injuries. Pilon, who finished 53rd last year, covered the 6,000-meter course for UW-Oshkosh in a time of 23:29. Julia Rudd of UW-La Crosse won the individual title with a time of 23:20, while Jane Ovanin of UW-Eau Claire finished second with a time of 23:27. The top-five finishes were completed by fourth-place Leah Herlache of UW-Stevens Point with a time of 23:37 and fifth-place Stephanie Oudenhoven of UW-La Crosse with a time of 23:40. In addition to Pilon, UW-Oshkosh's scoring also featured a 13th-place time of 24:15 by Emily Steinhafel (Fr. • West Bend), a 22nd-place time of 24:41 by Erin Meinen (So. • Cedar Grove), a 24th-place time of 24:55 by Katie Isermann (Jr. • West Allis) and a 32nd-place time of 25:09 by Tovah Mendoza (Sr. • Appleton). Steinhafel was the top freshman finisher in the race of 99 participants. Other UW-Oshkosh competitors at the WIAC Championship were 40th-place Kristy Giljohann (Fr. • Brookfield), 47th-place Kate Meinecke (Sr. • Big Bend), 59th-place Annette Pufall (So. • Ashland), 62nd-place Danielle Prohaska (So. • Phillips), 72nd-place Angela Bauer (Fr. • Buffalo City), 78th-place Amanda Williams (Jr. • Pewaukee) and 79th-place Megan Slempkes (Fr. • Lena). UW-La Crosse's Pat Healy was named the WIAC's Coach of the Year, while UW-Platteville's Amanda Troy and UW-River Falls' Lisa Traxler were named the WIAC's Judy Kruckman Co-Scholar-Athletes.

Bauer Leads Titans In Dual Meet With Pointers

With both squads resting their top runners in preparation for the upcoming WIAC Championship, Angela Bauer (Fr. • Buffalo City) emerged as the highest UW-Oshkosh finisher in the Titans' non-scoring dual meet with UW-Stevens Point on Friday (Oct. 25) at the Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne.

Bauer, one of only six UW-Oshkosh runners competing in the 5,000-meter race, paced the Titans by finishing third with a time of 21:28. Elizabeth Woodworth and Teresa Stanley, both running unattached, finished first and second in the race with times of 17:45 and 20:15, respectively.

UW-Oshkosh also received a sixth-place time of 21:52 from Amanda Williams (Jr. • Pewaukee), a 10th-place time of 22:37 from Megan Slempkes (Fr. • Lena), an 11th-place time of 22:41 from Jodie Klimas (Fr. • Hartland), a 16th-place time of 23:45 from Sheila Kruse (Fr. • West Bend) and a 17th-place time of 24:36 from Nhia Moua (Fr. • Schofield). Kelly Firkins led UW-Stevens Point with a fourth-place finish.

UW-Oshkosh, ranked 13th in the NCAA Division III, enters next Saturday's (Nov. 2) WIAC Championship in Platteville having won 15 league titles in the past 16 years.

Titans Turn In Another Strong Performance

A pair of top-26 individual finishes helped the UW-Oshkosh women's cross country team place fourth at the UW-Parkside Invitational held Saturday (Oct. 19) in Kenosha. It was the second time this season that UW-Oshkosh had a strong showing on the southeastern Wisconsin course, with the other being an eighth-place finish at the 30-team Midwest Collegiate Championship held September 21.

NCAA Division I Bradley University (Ill.) won the 30-team UW-Parkside Invitational with 55 points, while NAIA Northwest College Of The Assemblies (Wash.) finished second with 58 points, NCAA Division II UW-Parkside third with 132, UW-Oshkosh fourth with 172 and NCAA Division I Northern Illinois University fifth with 194. UW-Oshkosh, unranked in the NCAA Division III circuit, finished ahead of nine NCAA Division I teams in the meet.

Renee Pilon (Jr. • Waukesha) and Erin Meinen (So. • Cedar Grove) paced UW-Oshkosh by finishing 24th and 26th in a field of 298 participants, respectively. Pilon turned in a 5,000-meter time of 18:55, while Meinen was clocked in 19:01. Kathleen Brice of Elmhurst College (Ill.) took the individual title with a time of 18:06.

Other scorers for the Titans were 42nd-place Emily Steinhafel (Fr. • West Bend), 47th-place Katie Isermann (Jr. • West Allis) and 48th-place Jessica Linberts (Fr. • Fort Atkinson).

Titans Rank Seventh At St. Olaf College Invitational

Finishing ahead of three-ranked opponents, the UW-Oshkosh women's cross country team placed seventh at St. Olaf College Invitational held Saturday (Oct. 12) in Northfield, Minn.

UW-La Crosse, the sixth-ranked team in the NCAA Division III, won the 22-team meet with 93 points, while 10th-ranked Ithaca College (N.Y.) finished second with 103 points and third-ranked Wartburg College (Iowa) third with 113. UW-Oshkosh placed seventh with 212 points, finishing ahead of 12th-place and 22nd-ranked St. Lawrence University (N.Y.), 13th-place and 23rd-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) and 18th-place and 12th-ranked UW-Stevens Point.

UW-Oshkosh had three runners finish in the top 35 as Renee Pilon (Jr. • Waukesha) placed 25th with a time of 24:07, Katie Isermann (Jr. West Allis) 32nd with a time of 24:17 and Erin Meinen (So. • Cedar Grove) 35th with a time of 24:21. Missy Buttry of Wartburg College won the 6,000-meter race with a time of 22:03.

UW-Oshkosh's scoring was rounded out by 57th-place Jessica Linberts (Fr. • Fort Atkinson) and 69th-place Emily Steinhafel (Fr. • West Bend).

Titans Glide To UW-Platteville Invitational Title

Owning four of the top-six individual finishers and six of the top nine, the UW-Oshkosh women's cross country team strolled to a first-place standing at the UW-Platteville Invitational held Saturday (Oct. 5) in Platteville.

UW-Oshkosh, ranked 17th in the NCAA Division III, won the six-team event with 22 points, while Beloit College finished second with 68 points and Lawrence University third with 86. The team scoring was rounded out by fourth-place UW-Stevens Point with 92 points, fifth-place UW-Platteville with 113 points and sixth-place UW-Whitewater with 154.

Renee Pilon (Jr. • Waukesha) of UW-Oshkosh ran to the individual title by completing the 6,000-meter course in a time of 24:23. The Titans also had Katie Isermann (Jr. • West Allis) finish third with a time of 24:42, Erin Meinen (So. • Cedar Grove) fourth at 24:50, Jessica Lindberts (Fr. • Fort Atkinson) sixth at 24:55, Tovah Mendoza (Sr. • Appleton) eighth at 25:24 and Emily Steinhafel (Fr. • West Bend) ninth at 25:37.

In all, 61 runners completed the race, including 13 from UW-Oshkosh who placed in the top 34.

Titans Finish Eighth In 30-Team Invite

The UW-Oshkosh women's cross country team finished as the second NCAA Division III school and eighth overall at the Midwest Collegiate Championship held Saturday (Sept. 21) in Kenosha.

NCAA Division II Northern Michigan University won the 30-team event with 32 points, while defending NAIA champion Cedarville University (Ohio) finished second with 84 points and NCAA Division II Wayne State University (Mich.) third with 90. UW-Oshkosh totaled 264 points to finish eighth overall and second to only fourth-place Calvin College (Mich.) in the NCAA Division III standings.

Renee Pilon (Jr. • Waukesha) led UW-Oshkosh, ranked 17th in the NCAA Division III, for the second time in as many meets by finishing 36th overall with a 5,000-meter time of 19:27. The Titans' scoring was completed with a 57th-place time of 19:58 by Katie Isermann (Jr. • West Allis), 58th-place time of 20:01 by Jessica Linberts (Fr. • Fort Atkinson), 70th-place time of 20:10 by Erin Meinen (So. • Cedar Grove) and an 80th-place time of 20:17 by Tovah Mendoza (Sr. • Appleton). Caitlin Compton of Northern Michigan University won the individual title with a time of 18:14.

A total of 344 runners completed the race, with UW-Oshkosh's Emily Steinhafel (Fr. • West Bend), Kristy Giljohann (Fr. • Brookfield) and Jackie Munoz (Jr. • Oshkosh) also cracking the top-115 with their 91st, 104th and 111th-place finishes, respectively.

Titans Finish Third In Own Invitational

Competing without its top runner due to an injury, the UW-Oshkosh women's cross country team finished third in its own invitational held Friday (Sept. 13) at the Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne.

NCAA Division II UW-Parkside placed all five of its scorers in the top-13 overall finishes to win the six-team event with 38 points. UW-Stevens Point, ranked 19th in the NCAA Division III, placed second with 41 points, while UW-Oshkosh, ranked sixth in the NCAA Division III, placed third in its 2002 season debut with 83 points.

Renee Pilon (Jr. • Waukesha) led a UW-Oshkosh team that was competing without the injured Elizabeth Woodworth (Jr. • Marinette) by running to an eighth-place time of 18:53. The Titans also received scoring on an 11th-place time of 19:06 from Katie Isermann (Jr. • West Allis), a 14th-place time of 19:15 from Jackie Munoz (Jr. • Oshkosh), a 23rd-place time of 19:35 from Jessica Linberts (Fr. • Fort Atkinson) and a 27th-place time of 19:44 from Erin Meinen (So. • Cedar Grove). Kara Vosters from UW-Stevens Point won the 5,000-meter race with a time of 18:19.

Rounding out UW-Oshkosh's finishes in the overall top-40 were 28th-place Tovah Mendoza (Sr. • Appleton), 31st-place Emily Steinhafel (Fr. • West Bend), 37th-place Kristy Giljohann (Fr. • Brookfield) and 39th-place Annette Pufall (So. • Ashland).