UW Oshkosh track and field returned to form after Saturday’s meet at UW-La Crosse for the Ashton May Invitational. The women’s team placed fifth out of 11 teams with 70 points, and the men finished fourth out of 10 with 105 points.

In the earlier indoor meets, both teams were consistently placing in the upper echelons. However, at the beginning of the outdoor season and after the interim in between, the men’s team placed ninth, and the women’s seventh at the Washington University in St. Louis Invitational. Both teams placing within the top half could signal a return to strong team performances as opposed to the individual records that were recorded in February; the men’s team placed first in every meet throughout that month.

The women’s team placed fifth with points being generated from the majority of competitions, but the long distance runners stood out as powerhouses. Notable events were the 100-meter qualifier with three athletes in the top five, Alexandria Demco’s first place in the 1500-meter and 800-meter and Riley Kindt with a 5.58-meter long jump (which is nearly 20 feet).

The men’s team placed fourth with an impressive concentration of UWO athletes leading in the sprint events. Five of the top nine in the 100-meter raced for UWO, with Jaylen Grant placing second with a time of 10.6. Also in the 100-meter qualifier, athletes Londyn Little and Rashaad Henderson, who placed first and third respectively. Distance running and jumping were successful, with UWO athletes placing on the better half of the spectrum if not better. In shot-put, athlete Nick Tegtmeier placed second with 15.95 meters, and his teammate Jackson Sheckler was in third with 15.45 meters.

This meet, while the team didn’t place as high as in the prior indoor season, shows a turn towards improvement after the first outdoor meet of the season.