Track excels at Whitewater, underclassmen at helm

Josh Woolwine, Sports Writer

The UW Oshkosh men’s and women’s track and field teams placed second and seventh respectively in their divisions at the UW-Whitewater Midwest ELITE Invitational on Saturday.

The men finished 49 points behind first place Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.), but were led by freshman Jaylen Grant, who won the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.9 seconds.

“In the few seconds that the 60-meter dash takes there isn’t really a lot to think about,” Grant said. “One thing I always tell myself before I run is to relax and just have fun.”

Grant is ranked fifth nationally in the 60-meter dash. “Honestly, it’s a big honor to be ranked this highly in the nation; the one thing I always do to maintain my current form is listen to Coach Kinseth,” he said. “Everything he’s taught me so far has helped put me into the position I am right now.”

The Titan men were also led by sophomores Jackson Sheckler and Jonathan Wilburn, who placed first in the shotput and triple jump respectively. Sheckler threw for a measurement of 54 feet 9 ½ inches, while Wilburn jumped for a measurement of 49 feet ¼ inches.

On the women’s side, freshman Mikayla Jackson placed fifth in the 200-meter dash and seventh in the 60-meter dash with times of 26.41 seconds and 7.98 seconds respectively.

The Titans also had three other fifth-place results with Ashton Keene and Amanda Van Den Plas in the 5,000-meter run and mile run respectively, while Sydney Thompson threw for 42 feet 2 ¾ inches.

The Titans men’s and women’s track and field teams will have one last tune-up meet this Saturday at the UW Oshkosh Titan Challenge before preparing for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 28-29.

“This is going to be a great meet for us,” Grant said. “For the freshman on the team it will give us more experience at this level. I also think it will give us a lot of confidence heading into the conference championships.”