UW-La Crosse women’s track & field team looks for back-to-back NCAA DIII championships
The UW-La Crosse women’s track and field team begins its bid for back-to-back NCAA Division III National Championships on Thursday.
The Eagles head into the meet at Myrtle Beach Regional Sports Alliance with four NCAA titles (2023, 2015, 1984, 1983). UW-L finished DIII runners-up in 2022 and 2021.
UW-L has athletes participating in 16 events this season, and multiple athletes in four of those.
Lauren Jarrett, a Logan High School graduate, is the top-seed in the 100- and 200-meter dash heading into the championships. She took second in both events last season.
During the indoor season, Jarrett won a National Champion running the second-fastest 60-meter time in DIII history — breaking her own school record in the preliminaries before running a 7.41-second winning race. Her time was .01 seconds slower than the all-time DIII record set by University of Massachusetts’ Wadeline Jonathas (7.40 at the 2018 national championships).
Jarrett is also a member of UWL’s 400-meter relay with Makenna Zak, Anika Reiland and Taylor Molling. The relay is seeded second.
Zak also has qualified in the 100-meter dash.
UWL has a pair of runners in the 800-meter run with Maddie Hannan and Greta Koehler. Hannan, who earned NCAA III All-America honors with a second-place finish in the 800-meter run in 2023, has the fifth-fastest qualifying time this year.
Katelyn Chadwick and Maddy Vantassel are both entered in the 3,000-meter steeplechase while Hannah Holm has qualified in the 100-meter hurdles.
Along with the 400-mete relay, UWL’s 4×400-meter relay is seeded-seventh with Anna Plautz, Reiland, Morgan Jennings and Amber Johnson. Johnson has been a member of three 1,600-meter relays to earn All-America accolades, including finishing fourth in 2021 and 2023 and fifth in 2022. Jennings was also on last year’s fourth-place 1,600-meter relay.
Amber Grosse Is set to compete in the heptathlon this week.
The Eagles have two entries in the triple jump with Samantha Barrett and Maya Evans. Barrett is tied for fourth heading into the meet. Evans is also set to compete in the long jump, being seeded eighth. Barrett earned All-America honors with a fourth-place finish in the triple jump in 2022.
Izzy Carroll is entered in three events for this year’s NCAA III Championships, including the shot put, discus throw and hammer throw.
Macie Todd (high jump), Madison Habberstad (pole vault) and Gabby Johnson (javelin throw) are set to compete this week.
Action starts at 10 a.m. Thursday. On Friday, the meet starts at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, things begin at noon.
The top-eight finishers in each event earn NCAA Division III All-America honors. The top-22 times/marks in the individual events along with the top-16 relays teams in the nation qualified for the national championships.
TOP PHOTO: FILE – UW-La Crosse sophomore and Logan High graduate Lauren Jarrett smiles after a crossing the finish line (PHOTO: Sashi Popke, UWLAthletics)