Davis leads Badgers on final day of Big Tens

Saturday, February 24

Geneva, OH

9 AM

Wisconsin Badgers

Big Ten Indoor Championships

Amy Davis at the 2018 Big Ten Championships

Photo by: Walt Middleton

Davis leads Badgers on final day of Big Tens

February 24, 2018 | Women's Track & Field

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Junior takes fourth in 5K after finishing second in the 3K on Friday

GENEVA, Ohio – A day after finishing runner-up in the 3000 meters at the 2018 Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships, Wisconsin women's track and field junior Amy Davis scored more big points for the Badgers thanks to a fourth-place showing in the 5000 meters on Saturday.

Davis held onto the top spot for much of the race but ultimately finished in fourth with a time of 16 minutes 23.28 seconds. Teammate Alicia Monson finished in seventh in 16:33.61 followed by Shaelyn Sorensen who rounded out the scoring for the Badgers with a time of 16:38.32 to finish eighth overall.

Thanks to the eight points in the 5K, the Badgers finished with 61 points, good for a seventh-place finish at the conference championships.

Okoronkwo, Oginni shine in field events

Sophomore Chinne Okoronkwo is not new to the Big Ten stage. The sophomore finished with a bronze medal at last year's Big Ten Indoor Championships in the triple jump and finished strong this year as well. Okoronkwo finished fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 41 feet 1/2 inches (12.51m) to add some additional points to the Wisconsin team. Fellow sophomore Meagan Blair took home the 11th place spot finishing with a mark of 39-1 1/4 (11.92m).
Banke Oginni added some points to the Badgers total in the weight throw. The junior finished sixth in the event with a throw of 66-7 1/2 (20.31m) to secure three more points for Wisconsin. Sophomore Haley Showalter finished 11th in the event with a throw of 62-2 1/4 (18.95m), a season-best mark.

Notes to know

In addition, the UW quartet of Gabby DesRosiers, Bianca Stubler, Haley Lubow and Hannah Wilson finished in 11th place with a time of 3:46.68 in the final event of Big Tens.

Straight from the Track
UW Director of Track and Field Mick Byrne
On the 5000 meters:
"Same with the distance women. Amy [Davis], Alicia [Monson], Shaelyn [Sorensen] all getting up for points. Shaelyn didn't run last night, but Alicia and Amy did an incredible job. That's a national-caliber field out there. Look at the times those women had to run to just score. If you look around the country, there are a lot of conferences out there that Alicia and Amy would've won. They're growing up and they're learning to embrace that responsibility that's put upon our distance runners."

On the team competition:
"At the end of the day this is a team competition. The men were fifth and the women were seventh. However, we had several good storylines all weekend, and it is important that we focus on those storylines as we head into our outdoor season. Several of our athletes had stellar performances this weekend, and it is important to recognize and celebrate their efforts."

Junior Amy Davis
On picking up some more points for the Badgers:
"I feel like that's what we're always here to do. We're always here to support and do better for the team. As much as we wanted to pick up more points, I think what we did today was quality. We can't be disappointed in it. I think we're still excited to contribute to what we had."

On the level of competition:
"I think it's competitive, but if anything, I feel like we're just as competitive as them. We have no excuse to not be up with them. In today's race, it was a sacrifice to go out there and do what Alicia and I had to do in order to score the most points for this team. Erin [Wagner] sacrificed herself and I give her props for doing something in order for us to do better, even though nobody followed through with it. You just can't be upset about it."

Up Next
UW will wrap up the indoor season March 8-9 at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in College Station, Texas. The NCAA will announce the field next week as the top-16 individual athletes and the top-12 relays will qualify for the meet.