2014 WIAC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship Preview University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will shoot for a third straight first-place finish at the 2014 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship at the Oshkosh Sports Complex May 2-3. The 43rd version of the women’s meet will be held in conjunction with the 96th edition of the men’s event. The Eagles secured the 28th championship in program archives a season ago with 246.50 points. UW-Oshkosh placed second with 165.50 points, UW-Eau Claire third with 120.50, UW-Whitewater fourth with 106.50, UW-River Falls and UW-Stout tied for fifth with 58, UW-Stevens Point seventh with 52, UW-Platteville eighth with 36 and UW-Superior ninth with 14. This year’s championship features 19 student-athletes that have combined to win 26 individual and 15 relay first-place medals. It will also showcase five teams that appear in the top 25 of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division III rankings distributed on April 30. UW-Oshkosh is the top-ranked team, while UW-La Crosse is second, UW-Whitewater fifth, UW-Stout ninth and UW-Eau Claire 19th. UW-La Crosse junior Claire Elliott has contributed to the first-place 4x100-meter relay and 4x400-meter relay teams the past two years. In 2012, she added a 400-meter dash title and was chosen the Track Performer of the Meet. Junior Jaime Ludwigson is the defending champion in the triple jump and was a member of the winning 4x100-meter relay squad in 2012 and 2013. Junior Marissa Mahr has won consecutive titles in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles and could become the fifth individual in conference archives to win the event three straight years. Junior Corissa Conard is the defending champion in the 10,000-meter run. Junior Maya Vazquez and sophomore Meg Heafy helped the 4x100-meter relay squad to victory last year, while senior Jenna Halvorson and junior Shannon Klein have contributed to the triumphant 4x400-meter relay team the past two seasons. UW-Oshkosh senior Christy Cazzola is the most decorated returnee with seven individual and one relay crown to her credit. She has won both the 800-meter run and 1,500-meter run three consecutive seasons and could become the second individual in WIAC history to win both events four straight years. UW-Platteville’s Marcia Taddy accomplished the feat from 2005-08. Cazzola also added a 5,000-meter run title a year ago and was a member of the triumphant 4x800-meter relay team, along with senior Mariah McMullen. Cazzola was selected the Track Performer of the Meet at the 2011 and 2013 championships. Additional returning champions for the Titans from last year include senior Abby Martin in the shot put and sophomore Kasey Ederer in the high jump. In 2012, senior Breanna Strupp was named the Field Performer of the Meet after winning the shot put and discus. She also was victorious in the discus in 2011. UW-Stout senior Jessika Smith won the long jump and heptathlon in 2011, and added another heptathlon title in 2012. She was selected the Field Performer of the Meet at the 2011 championship. Senior Andrea Krueger will aim for back-to-back first-place finishes in the pole vault. UW-Whitewater junior Lexie Sondgeroth is the defending champion in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and long jump. UW-Platteville junior Emily Kjos is reigning champion in the javelin, while senior Stephanie Wyss was a member of the triumphant 4x400-meter relay squad in 2011. UW-Stevens Point sophomore Kadie Flynn claimed the discus a season ago. # # # # #