2023 WIAC Men's Indoor Track & Field Championship Preview

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh will aim for a second straight title at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championship (presented by Culver’s) at UW-Stout’s Johnson Fieldhouse Feb. 24-25. The 54th gathering of men’s teams will be held in conjunction with the 46th edition of the women’s championship.
 
The Titans won their sixth WIAC title a season ago with 172 points to surpass UW-La Crosse’s second-place total of 128.50 points. UW-Eau Claire took third with 110.33 points, UW-Whitewater fourth with 104, UW-Platteville fifth with 56.66, UW-Stout sixth with 56, UW-Stevens Point seventh with 33.50 and UW-River Falls eighth with 2.
 
UW-La Crosse owns a league-best 45 championships, while UW-Stevens Point owns two.
 
Competition at this year’s meet will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 24, and 10 a.m. on Feb. 25. Medals will be awarded to the top-eight finishers in each of the individual events and the individuals comprising the top-six relay teams.
 
This year’s championship includes 17 student-athletes that have combined to win 14 individual and six relay first-place medals at previous league meets. It will also include four teams ranked in the Top 11 of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division III Track & Field Rating Index distributed on Feb. 21. UW-Oshkosh is ranked second, while UW-La Crosse is third, UW-Eau Claire seventh and UW-Whitewater 11th.
 
UW-Oshkosh welcomes back five individual champions from last season, including: Caleb Cornelius (high jump); Ryan Potter (400-meter dash); Steven Potter (800-meter run); Jonathan Wilburn (triple jump); and Davian Williams (60-meter dash). Wilburn also posted first-place finishes in the triple jump in 2019 and 2020, and could become just the second four-time champion in the event, joining UW-La Crosse’s Ajamu Olaniya (formerly Dean Cash) (1989-1992). The Titans’ Jamyle Brantley secured the long jump title at the 2020 championship.
 
UW-La Crosse’s Sam Blaskowski is the defending champion in the 200-meter dash and long jump. A year ago, he also established the conference meet record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.70 seconds in the prelims and was chosen the Track Performer of the Meet, as well as Newcomer of the Year. Competing at the USA Track & Field Indoor Championships earlier this season, Blaskowski set the NCAA Division III record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.67 seconds.
 
UW-La Crosse’s Michael Madoch was victorious in the 1,500-meter run a season ago, while Carson Reilly won the 60-meter hurdles in 8.18 seconds.
 
UW-Stout’s Mason Barth will aim for back-to-back titles in the heptathlon, while UW-Whitewater’s Christian Patzka is the defending champion in the 5,000-meter run. Patzka, the conference’s Newcomer of the Year in 2021, registered the fastest flat-track 5,000-meter time (13:30.26 – actual 13:49.04) in NCAA Division III history earlier this season at the UW-Whitewater Midwest ELITE Invitational. The Warhawks’ Gunner Schlender and Luke Zanis helped the distance medley relay to victory a year ago, while Will Kaashagen contributed to the first-place distance medley relay in 2020.
 
Individuals from remaining conference programs ranking high on this year’s WIAC Honor Roll include: UW-Eau Claire’s Yakob Ekoue (shot put and 35-pound weight throw), Stefan Klechefski (60-meter dash) and Mitch Stegeman (pole vault and heptathlon); UW-Platteville’s Justin Eichler (shot put and 35-pound weight throw); UW-River Falls’ Yaih Marial (high jump); and UW-Stevens Point’s Austin Rennhack (shot put).
 

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