2023 WIAC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship Preview

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will aim for an 11th consecutive title at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship (presented by Culver’s) at UW-Whitewater’s Rex Foster Track Complex May 5-6. The 51st edition of the women’s championship will be held in unison with the 104th assembling of the men’s teams.
 
The Eagles secured the 36th conference title in program history last year with 293.50 points. It was the most points scored by a league champion since 1996 when UW-Oshkosh accumulated 313 points. UW-Eau Claire finished second with 137 points, while UW-Oshkosh was third with 88.50, UW-Stout fourth with 87, UW-Whitewater fifth with 57, UW-Stevens Point sixth with 56, UW-River Falls seventh with 52 and UW-Platteville eighth with 48.
 
UW-Oshkosh ranks second behind UW-La Crosse with 11 league titles, while UW-Stevens Point has one. Former member UW-Madison collected two first-place finishes.
 
Competition at this year’s championship will begin at 2:30 p.m. on May 5, and 11:00 a.m. on May 7. Medals will be awarded to the top-eight finishers in each of the individual events and runners comprising the top-six relay teams.
 
This year’s meet features 13 student-athletes that have combined to win 14 individual and nine relay first-place medals at previous WIAC Championships. Additionally, UW-La Crosse is the top-ranked team in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division III Rating Index distributed on May 2.
 
UW-La Crosse’s Emma Lawrence is the most decorated returnee with five titles to her credit. She has posted back-to-back first-place finishes in the 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles, and was a member of the winning 4x100-meter relay team a season ago. Lawrence was chosen the Track Performer of the Meet at the 2021 championship.
 
Emma Malooly and Skye Digman are the two-time defending champions in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and hammer throw, respectively. Malooly could become the second three-time winner in the event, joining former Eagle Julia Rudd (2004-06), while Digman was tabbed the Field Performer of the Meet at last year’s championship.
 
Mara Schroeder was victorious in the 400-meter dash a year ago, while Samantha Barrett leaped to the long jump title. Emily Dawidowich claimed the 200-meter dash at the 2021 championship and contributed to the first-place 4x100-meter relay team last season. Dawidowich claimed Newcomer of the Year honors in 2021.
 
UW-River Falls’ Lexi LeFever has won back-to-back titles in the long jump, while UW-Stevens Point’s Brooke Wellhausen helped the 4x400-meter relay team to first-place finishes in 2018 and 2019.
 
UW-Stout’s Raegan Sorensen was selected the conference’s Newcomer of the Year a season ago.
 
Additional individuals from remaining conference programs ranking high on this year’s WIAC Honor Roll include:  UW-Eau Claire’s Catie Fobbe (shot put, 20-pound weight throw), Jane Kautz (pentathlon), Carolyn Shult (one-mile run, 3,000-meter run), and Hannah Zastrow (60-meter hurdles, high jump); UW-Oshkosh’s Amelia Lehman (one-mile run, 3,000-meter run), Cyna Madigan (400-meter dash, 800-meter run), and Brenna Masloroff (20-pound weight throw); UW-Platteville’s Brenna Noon (shot put) and Paulina Wienke (20-pound weight throw); and UW-Whitewater’s Gracie Holland (pole vault) and Tina Shelton (60-meter dash, 200-meter dash).
 

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