Five Things to Know: Badgers head west to Big Ten Outdoor Championships

UW opens postseason action in Eugene

Women's Track & Field May 12, 2025 Maddox Durst

Five Things to Know: Badgers head west to Big Ten Outdoor Championships

UW opens postseason action in Eugene

MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin women's track and field program heads out west to take on the Big Ten Outdoor Championships from Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. The meet is set to take place from Friday, May 16 to Sunday, May 18—kicking off the postseason stretch.

Viewers can keep up with all three days of the meet on Big Ten Plus and RunnerSpace. On Sunday, the championships will be televised on Big Ten Network beginning at 2:30 p.m. CT.

Fans will be consistently updated on results on the @BadgerTrackXC social pages on Instagram and X, too.

The meet info for the Big Ten Championships, including a meet schedule, is located here.

1. LAST TIME OUT: The Badgers traveled south to wrap up the regular season, taking on the Augustana Penultimate Qualifier in Rock Island, Illinois. UW's throwers competed in three events and won all three of them—providing a strong showing ahead of Big Tens and beyond this upcoming week. Taylor Kesner, the 2025 NCAA champion in the weight throw, notched a season-best in the discus in Illinois—earning a mark of 178 feet, 3 inches (54.35m) en route to tallying gold. Danni Langseth finished in first place in the shot put, and Morgan Flaska rounded out the day by securing the best mark in the hammer throw while competing unattached.

2. HISTORY AT THE BIG TENS: Wisconsin currently has the second-most Big Ten Championships of any school in the conference with eight—looking to secure their first one since 1997 this weekend. Last year, the UW women took ninth place with the help of Shaina Zinter, who notched an individual championship in the heptathlon with 5,439 points. Zinter took first place in three of the events—leading to her victory after day two of the championships. As for the other returners, Kylie Finger put together a top-10 showing in the 1500 meters last season with a time of 4:24.84 during the championship race. Langseth is the lone returning thrower to make the top-10, as she placed eighth in the shot put with a heave of 52-8 ¾ (16.07m).

3. ELEVATING THEIR GAME: The UW women's throwers have continued to excel entering the postseason, fresh off of one individual national champion and another First Team All-American from the indoor season. Chloe Lindeman enters this weekend as one of the top performers in the hammer throw in the conference—ranking second after breaking her own school record at the Badger Challenge at the beginning of the month. Zonica Lindeque has quietly enjoyed one of the strongest seasons amongst the entire team, tallying multiple personal bests in the shot put, which has her ranked fifth at the conclusion of the regular season. To round out the throws, Kesner ranks No. 6 in the discus and No. 7 in the javelin ahead of this weekend's competition—looking to earn points for the Wisconsin women's team.

4. RUN FAST, RUN FAR: The distance program has put together numerous noteworthy performances during the regular season—boding well for this upcoming competition toward the end of the year. Emma Kelley has been one of the top newcomers to the program, emerging as a top-10 runner in both school history and in the Big Ten in the 800 meters—clocking in at 2:03.17. Leané Willemse and Shea Ruhly are staples in the distance program, each placing at No. 7 in their respective distance events. Willemse shined in the 5000 meters at the Stanford Invitational, running her top time of the season at 15:47.05. Ruhly did the same thing in the 10,000 meters out in Stanford, covering the distance in 33:31.11 to inch closer to her personal best. All three will be heavily relied on throughout the weekend, as they look to build on the distance program's quality showing from last season—including a couple of podium finishes.

5. UP NEXT: Select athletes who rank within the top-48 of their respective event will travel south to compete in the NCAA West First Round from College Station, Texas—looking to punch their ticket to the NCAA Championships at the aforementioned Hayward Field a couple of weeks later. Regionals will take place from Wednesday, May 28 to Saturday May 31, hosted by Texas A&M.

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Players Mentioned

Kylie Finger: Middle Distance; Senior

Emma Kelley: Middle Distance; Senior

Shea Ruhly: Distance; Graduate Student

Morgan Flaska: Throws; Freshman

Taylor Kesner: Throws; Senior

Danni Langseth: Throws; Redshirt Junior

Chloe Lindeman: Throws; Graduate Student

Zonica Lindeque: Throws; Sophomore

Shaina Zinter: Multi Events; Junior

Players Mentioned

Kylie Finger
: Senior
: Middle Distance

Emma Kelley
: Senior
: Middle Distance

Shea Ruhly
: Graduate Student
: Distance

Morgan Flaska
: Freshman
: Throws

Taylor Kesner
: Senior
: Throws

Danni Langseth
: Redshirt Junior
: Throws

Chloe Lindeman
: Graduate Student
: Throws

Zonica Lindeque
: Sophomore
: Throws

Shaina Zinter
: Junior
: Multi Events

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