Saturday, May 29 Update   Triple jumper Sara Poppe (Germantown/Kettle Moraine Lutheran) and high jumper Shelby Demos (Janesville/Parker) placed ninth in their events Saturday, the final day of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championship hosted by Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.  Poppe, who also qualified for the long jump at the national meet, advanced to the finals of the triple jump and went 37-11.5.  Tanasia Hoffler of Williams College won the event with a jump of 40-10.5.  Demos' best jump of the day was 5-5.75.  She had the same height as a group that finished tied for fifth place, but placed lower because of misses.  She was also just 1.25 inches away from second place.  Kailey Honn of Manchester College won the event at 5-8.  



Friday, May 28 Update   UW-Whitewater freshman JoLyn Owen (Middleton/Middleton), the first UW-W athlete to ever qualify for the heptahlon, finished in tenth place in the two day competition, breaking her own school record in the process with a total of 4,520 points in the NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championship hosted by Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.  The previous mark for UW-W, and Owen, was 4,410.  Courtney Hartman of Bridgewater won the decathlon with 4,904, the highest total in Division III this season.  UW-W's Brooke Bell (Milwaukee/Alexander Hamilton) ran in the 100 meter trials Friday and tied her best time of the season with a 12.15, but did not advance to the finals of the 100.  Miriam Khan of The College of New Jersey had the top time in the 100 prelims, 11.85.  Bell also ran in the 200 meter trials Thursday.  The Warhawk women have two more athletes waiting to compete Saturday, with Sara Poppe (Germantown/Kettle Moraine Lutheran) in the triple jump and Shelby Demos (Janesville/Parker) in the high jump.  Poppe competed in the long jump Thursday.


JoLyn Owen (Middleton/Middleton) (photo courtesy of Jeff Hoedt and Ron Linek)

Thursday, May 27 Update   Brooke Bell (Milwaukee/Alexander Hamilton) ran a season best 24.73 in the 200 meter preliminaries of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championship at Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio Thursday.  Bell, who will also compete in the 100 meter preliminaries Friday, did not advance to the finals of the 200.  The top time in the 200 prelims was turned in by Ruby Blackwell of Methodist University in 24.05.  Other Warhawks in action Thursday included Sara Poppe (Germantown/Kettle Moraine Lutheran), who went 17-9 in the preliminaries of the long jump, and Jessa Luebke (Tomah/Tomah), who went 167-9 in the hammer throw.  Poppe and Luebke did not advance to the finals in their events.  Brianna Aiken of Texas Lutheran won the long jump at 19-3.5, and the hammer was won by UW-Oshkosh's Holly Ozanich at 188-4.  Whitewater's JoLyn Owen (Middleton/Middleton) is in thirteenth place in the heptathlon with 2,646 points after the first day.  Her best finish in a heptathlon event was fourth in the high jump.  Emma Dewart of Ithaca College is in first after day one at 3,029 points.  Looking ahead to Friday, in addition to Bell's 100, Poppe will compete in the triple jump.  Shelby Demos (Janesville/Parker) will compete in the high jump Saturday.


Brooke Bell (Milwaukee/Alexander Hamilton) (photo courtesy of Jeff Hoedt and Ron Linek)
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Preview
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is being represented by five women in seven events at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championship hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio May 27-29.  UW-W's qualifiers include Brooke Bell (Milwaukee/Alexander Hamilton) in the 100 and 200, Sara Poppe (Germantown/Kettle Moraine Lutheran) in the long jump and triple jump, Jessa Luebke (Tomah/Tomah) in the hammer throw, Shelby Demos (Janesville/Parker) in the high jump, and JoLyn Owen (Middleton/Middleton) in the heptathlon.

  Interview with Jessa Luebke (Tomah/Tomah), Sara Poppe (Germantown/Kettle Moraine Lutheran), Shelby Demos (Janesville/Parker) and JoLyn Owen (Middleton/Middleton).

  Women's Track Animoto Video

Bell is the UW-W's most experienced national competitor.  She is the defending outdoor champion in the 200 meters and a three-time all-American.  She placed seventh in the 200 in 2008 and fifth in the 100 last year.  She also qualified for the NCAA III indoor meet in the 55 meters in 2008 and 2010.  Bell ran a 24.25 to win the 200 last year, and she set the school record of 23.98 in 2009.  Rhondale Jones of Lincoln University set the Division III record of 23.72 in 1999.  Nora Kuiper of Hope College won the 100 in 11.84 in 2009, just off the D3 record of 11.71 set by Muffy Israel of Carthage in 2002.  Camille Ross owns the UW-W record, set in 1999, of 11.82.  

Poppe has also scored points at a national meet.  She also qualified for the long jump and triple jump in the NCAA III indoor meet in March, earning all-American honors with a seventh place finish in the triple jump.  Poppe set the school record in the triple jump, 39-3.75, earlier this spring.  The 2009 NCAA winner was Akeye Aimable of Wartburg at 39-10.75, and the Division III record of 42-0.75 was set by Darcell Edwards of McMurry College in 2003.  Poppe will also try to earn points in the long jump, where the D3 record is 20-1 in 2001 by Lindsay Mulder of Calvin College, and last year's winner was Caitlin Schetter of UW-La Crosse at 19-10.75.  

Luebke has earned her second trip to a NCAA championship, having qualified for the weight throw at the national indoor meet in March.  Ellie Sitek of UW-Oshkosh won the meet last year at 175-10, and Kelsey Godsey of Bates College holds the NCAA III record of 206-5, set in 2006.  Whitewater's hammer record of 179-9 was set by Jessica Kohlman in 2001.

Demos, just a freshman, already has all-America honors to her credit with a tie for sixth place in the high jump in the NCAA III indoor meet.  Demos holds the school record at 5-8, better than last year's winner, Ashley Huston of Hardin-Simmons at 5-7.  Kristy Laramee of Middlebury and Maria Megnin of Hartwick College share the DIII record at 5-11.25, both in the 1999 championship.

Owen, like Demos, is a freshman.  She also has the unique distinction of being the first multi-event qualifier in school history.  Owen, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion in the heptathlon, will be chasing her own school record of 4,410 points.  Ashley Huston, the winner of the high jump last year, also won the heptathlon, scoring 5.244 points.  Kim Oden of Wesleyan scored 5,320 in 1992 to set the Division III record.

In addition to the two freshmen, the other three UW-W qualifiers are juniors.

The top eight finishers in each event earn all-America distinction.

UW-Whitewater placed sixteenth in the 2009 NCAA III women's outdoor championship.

For additional information:  Dave Wiederrecht, UW-W coach