The Who's Who of NCAA Division III track and field gathered at St. Olaf College Friday and Saturday for the national championships.
The usual elite squads were well-represented, from Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference powerhouses UW-Oshkosh and UW-La Crosse to five-team national champions Wheaton and Christopher Newport.
And then UW-Platteville crashed the party.
The Pioneers grabbed sixth place in the nation with five athletes earning all-America honors in easily the best women's showing in school history. UW-Platteville scored 25 points and finished ahead of UW-La Crosse, North Central, Wheaton and many of the traditional national powers.
Leading the Pioneer charge was Marcia Taddy. She received the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Midwest Regional Athlete of the Year award at Thursday night's banquet, then managed to one-up that over the course of the weekend.
Taddy was voted the outstanding athlete of the national championships after winning the mile, placing third in the 800 and anchoring the second-place distance medley relay team. She became the first female in Pioneer history to earn all-America honors in three events at the same meet. Taddy had earned two all-America honors in both the indoor and outdoor championships last year, including the national championship in the outdoor 800.
Taddy's second national championship in as many years came in the mile run. She crossed the finish line in 4:55.90, beating SUNY-Geneseo's Marta Scott by three-tenths of a second. She was third in the 800 in 2:14.30, just behind the winning time of 2:13.78 by Keene State's Breanne Lucey.
The women's distance medley relay team of Jessica Scott, Mayia Corcoran, Stephanie Martin and Taddy continued its impressive run through the indoor season. The quartet completed the race in 11:57.96, just 1.5 seconds behind national champion Keene State. The foursome became the first UWP women's relay ever team to earn NCAA all-America honors.
Carrie Morschauser added to the team point total while earning an all-American honor in the high jump. She soared to 5-5.25, tying for fourth in the height but placing eighth overall with the number of jumps.
Beth Ambrosious missed all-America honors by one spot. She was ninth in the pole vault with a vault of 11-3.75. Scott also qualified in the 800-meter run but did not make the finals, while Jackie Mulrooney was 11th in the 5,000-meter run.
On the men's side, Jim Uppena put an exclamation mark on his standout season by earning all-America honors in the weight throw. Uppena uncorked a throw of 63-5.5, which broke his own school record and placed fifth in the country. Five of the nine finalists came from WIAC schools.
Tyler Sigl, who was inactive for two weeks prior to nationals because of an illness, qualified for the mile finals with the meet's third-best time of 4:15.89, but then placed ninth in the finals at 4:18.03.
UW-Oshkosh won its third straight women's team title while UW-La Crosse set a record for largest margin of victory on the men's side.
Women's Team Scores (Top 10): UW-Oshkosh 44, Williams 38, City College of New York 27, Keene State 26, Illinois Wesleyan 26, UW-Platteville 25, UW-La Crosse 22, North Central 20, Lincoln 20, College of New Jersey 17.
| Marcia Taddy, Jr., Two Rivers |
| 1st mile |
| 2nd Distance Medley Relay |
| 3rd 800 |
| Mayia Corcoran, Fr., Boscobel |
| 2nd Distance Medley Relay |
| Stephanie Martin, Sr., Lena, IL/Lena-Winslow |
| 2nd Distance Medley Relay |
| Jessica Scott, Fr., Kiel |
| 2nd Distance Medley Relay |
| Jim Uppena, Sr., Cassville |
| 5th Weight Throw |
| Carrie Morschauser, Sr., Deerfield |
| 8th High Jump |
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