ANN ARBOR, Mich. – In the final day of competition at the 2019 Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships, the Wisconsin women's track team hit its stride and brought home a fourth place finish in the conference with 77 points.

Alicia Monson would not be denied another Big Ten title in the second day of the Big Ten Championship. Monson clinched her second gold medal of the weekend after winning the 5000 meter race. The distance runner out of Amery, Wisconsin completed the distance in 16 minutes, 18.63 seconds.

Monson became the first Badger since Gwen Jorgensen to sweep the 3000 and 5000 meters at the Big Ten indoor meet. 

Monson was visibly cheering on her teammate, Amy Davis, to join her up in front of the pack. Davis passed Katherine Receveur of Indiana in the final 50 meters to earn runner-up in the distance event, finishing in 16:18.68.

Alissa Niggemann and Shaelyn Sorensen also finished in the top-ten in the 5000 meters. Sorensen took eighth place with a 16:28.96 time while Niggemann took 10th place and set a personal best with a final time of 16:43.45.

The 4x400 team set a school record at the conference championship. Haley Lubow kicked things off for the relay with a 58.43 split. Lubow passed the baton off to Ebony McClendon with ran her 400 meters in 53.63 seconds. Next up in the quartet was Gabby DesRosiers. She ran her split in a stifling 53.68 seconds. Bianca Stubler closed it out for Wisconsin, running her 400 meters in 53.78 seconds.

The school record was previously held by DesRosiers, McClendon, Stubler, and Morgan Parzych. They set that record on Feb. 1, 2019.

Ebony McClendon had a busy day at the conference championship. The senior sprinter competed in the 60 meters and finished with a time of 7.46 seconds, good for fourth place in the Big Ten.

In the stacked 400 meters, Gabby DesRosiers took fourth place with a time of 55.14. The sprinter set a personal best yesterday to advance to the finals.

McClendon and DesRosiers both competed in the finals of the women's 200 meters. McClendon ran her fastest time of the season in 23.82 while DesRosiers finished in eighth place with a time of 24.23.

True freshman Lucinda Crouch finished seventh in her first Big Ten track meet, finishing the mile 4:50.49.

Shot put is one of the Big Ten's most prolific competitions. Banke Oginni advanced to the final round of women's shot put and took eighth place with a 52 foot throw. Josie Schafer also competed and finished in 14th place following a 48 foot, 4-inch toss.

Straight from the Track
Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Mick Byrne
"At the team meeting on Thursday night we asked everybody to first of all, get out there and compete hard. There are no points in this meet being handed out freely. You've got to go earn every single point. We asked them to do that, compete harder, and then support each other and be a team. You saw that all weekend. Our kids competed."

"In the 4x400, our women shattered the school record by two seconds. We haven't been in this final in a long time and getting second, I am still trying to pinch myself. It's fantastic. I'm really excited for those women."

"We had Ebony and Gabby competing for us in the sprinting events. Gabby was in the 200 and 400 final, we haven't had athletes compete in the finals of those events in years. Ebony almost ran a lifetime best in the 60 meter final and then came out in the 200 meter final and took sixth. All weekend we saw kids getting after it and never quitting."

"Amy and Alicia, Alicia is a double champion. Super job. You saw the way that they ran as a team over the last 200 meters and Alicia pulled Amy along. That was huge for team points. I could just go on and on, it was an overall team effort and that was fun to see. Chasing these Big Ten titles, we were in the race all weekend and that was fun. I'm really proud of our kids the way they competed. That's all any coach can really ask for."

Up Next
Postseason action will conclude for Wisconsin on March 8-9 at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Big Ten Championship
Ann Arbor, Mich.
February 23, 2019

Women's 60 Meters
4. Ebony McClendon – 7.46

Women's 200 Meters (finals)
6. Ebony McClendon – 23.82
8. Gabby DesRosiers – 24.23

Women's 400 Meters (finals)
6. Gabby DesRosiers – 55.14

Women's Mile (finals)
7. Lucinda Crouch – 4:50.49

Women's 5,000 Meters (finals)
1. Alicia Monson – 16:18.63
2. Amy Davis – 16:18.68
8. Shaelyn Sorensen – 16:28.96
10. Alissa Niggemann – 16:43.45

Women's 4x400 Meter Relay (finals)
2. Lubow, McClendon, DesRosiers, Stubler – 3:39.53

Women's Triple Jump (trials & finals)
14. Meagan Blair – 39-1 ¾ (11.93m)

Women's Shot Put (trials & finals)
8. Banke Oginni – 52-00 (15.85m)
14. Josie Schaefer – 48-4 (14.73m)