Two rivals from the same league, Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Wisconsin-La Crosse, each grabbed a share of the team championship at the Division III Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championships March 13-14 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The post-meet trophy presentation featured both new faces  – this is Oskhosh’s first-ever win at the men’s championships – and familiar ones after La Crosse’s claimed its record 15th team title.

But it was two meet veterans who played major roles in forging the tie, as Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Willy Kaul successfully defended his individual crown in the 5,000-meter run and also anchored a meet-record distance medley relay for Wisconsin-Oshkosh, while Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Bobby Riley won his third straight shot put title.

It took Riley’s victory and a fifth-place finish in the 1,600-meter relay to pull La Crosse into the 32-32 tie for the title with its Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival (Oskhosh did not qualify an entry for the relay).

Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Kaul, who anchored his DMR squad to victory for the second time in three years on the meet’s first day, gave the Titans a big boost toward the crown Saturday just before the 1,600-meter relay by repeating as 5,000-meter champ – matching Riley’s shot put win on the same afternoon.

But the tone for the team competition was set in that DMR race, where the Wisconsin foes finished one-two as Kaul hit the tape three seconds ahead of Wisconsin-La Crosse anchor Dallas Vincent – essentially putting the Eagles into catch-up mode for the rest of the meet. The Titans’ record time of 9 minutes, 56.79 seconds, eclipsed Wisconsin-Platteville’s five-year-old 9:57.05 mark in the event

“It has taken four years of hard work and I’ve raced against (Vincent) before,” Kaul said. “I had to give it everything I had for us to win.”

Vincent also was runner-up to Kaul in the 5,000 meters.

Of course, tying for the team trophy is preferable to finishing second, and the Eagles – and Riley – had reason to be happy after capturing Wisconsin-La Crosse’s eighth championship in nine years.

Despite his win that made him the second three-time shot put champ in Division III men’s indoor history, Riley came up a bit shy of a personal goal entering the meet, throwing a couple of feet under the 13-year-old event mark held by Concordia-Moorhead’s Aaron Banks.

“I wanted to break the record, but I came up short,” he said of his winning toss of 17.51 meters (57 feet, 5 1/2 inches). “I’m still happy with first.  It feels good to be a three-time champion.”

The meet’s only other repeat champion was Peter Kosgei of Hamilton, who improved on his winning time in last year’s mile run to win that event in 4:08.58. He has now won seven titles in cross country and indoor and outdoor track.

Whitworth, appearing in only its third championships meet, previously had finished no better than 25^th in indoor competition but grabbed third place in the team competition after doing the same at last spring’s outdoor championships. Cody Stelzer, last spring’s high jump champion, also won the indoor event for the Pirates at Terre Haute.

“We went into the meet with an opportunity to win and with the mindset of coming away with a trophy,” said Whitworth coach Toby Schwarz. “We are very content with our third-place finish.”

McMurry, last spring’s outdoor team champion, finished fourth behind Hanneus Ollison’s win in the 400-meter dash, and Buena Vista rounded out the top five team finishers.

In a new event at the indoor championships, Todd Wildman of Trinity (Texas) won the pentathlon, in addition to finishing second in the high jump.

Fourteen different schools claimed event victories at the 15-event meet.

Team results

1. (tie) Wis.-Oshkosh and Wis.-La Crosse, 32; 3. Whitworth, 24; 4. McMurry, 23; 5. Buena Vista, 21; 6. Trinity (Tex.), 20; 7. North Central (Ill.), 19 1/2; 8. Wis.-Stevens Point, 17 1/2; 9. Thiel, 17; 10. Salisbury, 16; 11. (tie) Oneonta St., Carroll (Wis.), and Augustana (Ill.), 14; 14. Tufts, 13 1/2; 15. St. Thomas (Minn.), 12; 16. Keene St., 11; 17. (tie) Wis.-Eau Claire, Springfield, Ohio Northern, Montclair St., Hamilton, Connecticut Col., and Aurora, 10; 24. Illinois Col., 9; 25. (tie) St. Lawrence, St. John's (Minn.), Elmhurst, Dickinson, and Chris. Newport, 8; 30. Wis.-Whitewater, 7 1/3; 31. Monmouth (Ill.), 7; 32. (tie) Washington-St. Louis, Neb. Wesleyan, Messiah, MIT, Lynchburg, Haverford, Calvin, and Brockport, 6; 40. (tie) Wis.-Platteville, St. Scholastica, Muhlenberg, Gust. Adolphus, Frostburg St., Case Reserve, Capital, and Allegheny, 5; 48. (tie) Wis.-River Falls, Williams, Trinity (Conn.), Ramapo, Mount Union, Hamline, and Central (Iowa), 4; 55. (tie) Rensselaer, Lehman, Ill. Wesleyan, Greenville, Bethel (Minn.), 3; 60. Mary Washington, 2 1/2; 61. (tie) Wis.-Stout, Rochester Inst., Methodist, Concordia (Wis.), and Amherst, 2; 66. (tie) Wheaton (Mass.), St. Norbert, Rutgers-Camden, Otterbein, TCNJ, Marietta, and Carthage, 1; 73. (tie) Susquehanna and Loras, 1/3.

Individual champions

55-meter dash: Stephen Headley, Springfield, 6.24.
400-meter dash: Hanneus Ollison, McMurry, 48.33.
800-meter run: Jimmy O'Brien, Ohio Northern, 1:53.34.
Mile run: Peter Kosgei, Hamilton, 4:08.58.
5,000-meter run: William Kaul, Wis.-Oshkosh, 14:31.46.
55-meter high hurdles: William Brown, Montclair St., 7.39.
1,600-meter relay: Oneonta St. (Joe Reed, Fred Romer, Sean Daly, Eric Theiss), 3:17.19.
Distance medley relay: Wis.-Oshkosh (Nate Stymiest, Ben Zill, Ben Wizner, William Kaul), 9:56.79 [meet record; old record 9:57.05, Wis.-Platteville (Nick Meis, Steve Ross, Josh Placke, Ryan Kleimenhagen), 2004].
High jump: Cody Stelzer, Whitworth, 2.11 (6-11).
Pole vault: Jake Winder, North Central (Ill.), 5.22 (17-1 1/2).
Long jump: Eric Bertelsen, Buena Vista, 7.54 (24-9).
Triple jump: Alex Samma, Connecticut Col., 15.07 (49-5 1/2).
Shot put: Bobby Riley, Wis.-La Crosse, 17.51 (57-5 1/2).
35-pound weight throw: Sam Johnson, Wis.-Eau Claire, 19.83 (65-0 3/4).
Pentathlon: Todd Wildman, Trinity (Tex.) 3,859.

Individual results

55-meter dash: 1. Stephen Headley, Springfield, 6.24; 2. Delannie Spriggs, Salisbury, 6.30; 3. Josh Hurlebaus, Carroll (Wis.), 6.36; 4. Keith Ingram, Wis.-Stevens Point, 6.37; 5. Joe Reed, Oneonta St., 6.37; 6. Eric Bertelsen, Buena Vista, 6.41; 7. Tazz Petty, Methodist, 6.42; 8. Cailean Robinson, Wheaton (Mass.), 6.43.
400-meter dash: 1. Hanneus Ollison, McMurry, 48.33; 2. Alex Eaton, Thiel, 48.78; 3. Patrick Jager, St. Thomas (Minn.), 48.90; 4. Luke Reschke, Monmouth (Ill.), 49.23; 5. Isiah Gray, Wis.-Whitewater, 49.29; 6. Eric Rhode, Bethel (Minn.), 49.36; 7. Kyle Ekberg, Augustana (Ill.), 49.59; 8. Dann Schneider, St. Norbert, 49.97.

800-meter run: 1. Jimmy O'Brien, Ohio Northern, 1:53.34; 2. Emmanuel Bofa, Whitworth, 1:53.80; 3. Patrick Roach, Messiah, 1:54.17; 4. Peter Najem, Keene St., 1:54.37; 5. Nick Zeien, Wis.-River Falls, 1:54.99; 6. Aron Kehoe, Wis.-Whitewater, 1:55.38; 7. Brian Sames, St. Thomas (Minn.), 1:55.75; 8. Frank Iwanicki, Rutgers-Camden, 1:58.25.

Mile run: 1. Peter Kosgei, Hamilton, 4:08.58; 2. Brian McConnell, Elmhurst, 4:09.30; 3. Craig MacPherson, Keene St., 4:09.81; 4. Brian Leiter, Frostburg St., 4:10.08; 5. Mack Chaffee, Williams, 4:10.90; 6. Andrew McGuire, Wis.-Oshkosh, 4:11.01 7. Michael Hardbarger, Rochester Inst., 4:11.06; 8. Tony Dipre, Allegheny, 4:11.07.

5,000-meter run: 1. William Kaul, Wis.-Oshkosh, 14:31.46; 2. Dallas Vincent, Wis.-La Crosse, 14:33.76; 3. Jed Christiansen, Calvin, 14:34.25; 4. Jesse Faller, Tufts, 14:35.46; 5. Ricky Flynn, Lynchburg, 14:35.87; 6. Mike Spain, North Central (Ill.), 14:36.07; 7. Micah Lorenzen, Concordia (Wis.), 14:36.18; 8. Kyle Brady, North Central (Ill.), 14:36.26.

55-meter high hurdles: 1. William Brown, Montclair St., 7.39; 2. Shawn Olorundami, Buena Vista, 7.42; 3. Dorran Coley, Thiel, 7.45; 4. Tyler Geyen, Gust. Adolphus, 7.55; 5. Cecil Shorts III, Mount Union, 7.66; 6. Edgar Townsend, Greenville, 7.68; 7. Todd Wildman, Trinity (Tex.) 7.70; 8. Austin Curbow, Otterbein, 7.75.

1,600-meter relay: 1. Oneonta St. (Joe Reed, Fred Romer, Sean Daly, Eric Theiss), 3:17.19; 2. Carroll (Wis.), 3:18.51; 3. Neb. Wesleyan, 3:19.10; 4. McMurry, 3:19.31; 5. Wis.-La Crosse, 3:19.44; 6. Thiel, 3:19.54; 7. Monmouth (Ill.), 3:19.58; 8. St. Thomas, 3:19.83.

Distance medley relay: 1. Wis.-Oshkosh (Nate Stymiest, Ben Zill, Ben Wizner, William Kaul), 9:56.79 [meet record; old record 9:57.05, Wis.-Platteville (Nick Meis, Steve Ross, Josh Placke, Ryan Kleimenhagen), 2004]; 2. Wis.-La Crosse, 9:59.30; 3. Tufts, 10:04.25; 4. Muhlenberg, 10:04.78; 5. Trinity (Conn.), 10:05.05; 6. St. Thomas (Minn.), 10:05.23; 7. Amherst, 10:06.35; 8. TCNJ, 10:06.98.

High jump: 1. Cody Stelzer, Whitworth, 2.11 (6-11); 2. Todd Wildman, Trinity (Tex.), 2.08 (6-9 3/4); 3. Dillon Binkley, Illinois Col., 2.05 (6-8 3/4); 4. Cory Trump, Capital, 2.05 (6-8 3/4); 5. Ted McMillan, Augustana (Ill.), 2.05 (6-8 3/4); 6. (tie) Justin German, Mary Washington, and James Bradley, Tufts, 2.05 (6-8 3/4); 8. (tie) Graham Huber, Susquehanna; Luke Buchholz, Wis.-Whitewater; and Chris Buresh, Loras, 2.00 (6-6 3/4).

Pole vault: 1. Jake Winder, North Central (Ill.), 5.22 (17-1 1/2); 2. Stephen Hendrix, Dickinson, 4.92 (16-1 3/4); 3. (tie) John Wood, North Central (Ill.), and Mark Cufaude, Wis.-Stevens Point, 4.92 (16-1 3/4); 5. Craig Van Leeuwen, Ramapo, 4.92 (16-1 3/4); 6. Justin Metzger, Rensselaer, 4.92 (16-1 3/4); 7. Daniel Drewek, Wis.-Stout, 4.77 (15-7 3/4); 8. Greg Tao, MIT, 4.77 (15-7 3/4).

Long jump: 1. Eric Bertelsen, Buena Vista, 7.54 (24-9); 2. Gavan Bass, McMurry, 7.25 (23-9 1/2); 3. Chaz Thomas, Haverford, 7.08 (23-2 3/4); 4. Wendell Booth, St. Scholastica, 7.06 (23-2); 5. Stephen Morton, MIT, 7.04 (23-1 1/4); 6. D.J. Jackson, Illinois Col., 7.03 (23-0 3/4); 7. Erik Diley, St. John's (Minn.) 7.01 (23-0); 8. Buzzy Brown, Carthage, 7.01 (23-0).

Triple jump: 1. Alex Samma, Connecticut Col., 15.07 (49-5 1/2); 2. Isaac Bell, Chris. Newport, 14.77 (48-5 1/2); 3. Eric Buss, St. John's (Minn.) 14.75 (48-4 3/4); 4. James Simms, Wis.-Oshkosh, 14.42 (47-3 3/4); 5. Joe McMahon, Allegheny, 14.36 (47-1 1/2); 6. Pete Charles, Lehman, 14.35 (47-1); 7. Brandon Edwards, Lynchburg, 14.35 (47-1); 8. Stephen Morton, MIT, 14.20 (46-7 1/4).

Shot put: 1. Bobby Riley, Wis.-La Crosse, 17.51 (57-5 1/2); 2. Brandon Fugett, Salisbury, 16.86 (55-3 3/4); 3. Jeff Kintner, Whitworth, 16.83 (55-2 3/4); 4. Adrian Kibiersza, Aurora, 16.46 (54-0); 5. Derall King, Hamline, 16.14 (52-11 1/2); 6. Kyle Scofield, Wis.-Stevens Point, 16.06 (52-8 1/4); 7. Bill Warren, Wis.-La Crosse, 16.03 (52-7 1/4); 8. Tom Sroka, Aurora, 15.94 (52-3 3/4).

35-pound weight throw: 1. Sam Johnson, Wis.-Eau Claire, 19.83 (65-00 3/4); 2. Eric Jones, St. Lawrence, 18.06 (59-03); 3. Ray Lund, Brockport, 17.97 (58-11 1/2); 4. Corey Digman, Wis.-Platteville, 17.48 (57-04 1/4); 5. Tom Sroka, Aurora, 17.37 (57-00); 6. Darien West, Ill. Wesleyan, 17.22 (56-06); 7. Jerry Prusinski, Wis.-Stevens Point, 17.02 (55-10 1/4); 8. Brian Pallini, Marietta, 16.91 (55-05 3/4).

Pentathlon: 1. Todd Wildman, Trinity (Tex.) 3,859; 2. Ted McMillan, Augustana (Ill.) 3,721; 3. Ben Harmon, Washington-St. Louis, 3,671; 4. Obinna Nwanna, Case Reserve, 3,637; 5. Ben Zill, Wis.-Oshkosh, 3,620; 6. Kurtis Brondyke, Central (Iowa), 3,544; 7. Mike Dellemann, Wis.-Stevens Point, 3,507; 8. Ethan Miller, Central (Iowa), 3,494.