TB
Theron Baumann
  • Special Education (master's degree)
  • Class of 2017
  • Sun Prairie, WI

Madison's Baumann Earns All-America Honors for UW-Whitewater Track and Field

2017 May 31

Theron Baumann, a native of Madison, Wis., graduate of Monona Grove High School and member of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater track and field program, was one of 14 Warhawks (seven men, seven women) to combine for 21 All-America accolades over the weekend at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Men

The UW-Whitewater men combined for their best outdoor finish in program history, placing second with 45 points, only two shy of national champion UW-La Crosse. The women finished 12th with 21 points.

Junior Theron Baumann (Monona Grove, Wis./Monona Grove) claimed the national title in the shot put. His mark of 60-02.50 (18.35 meters) won the title by nearly a meter over the next competitor. This was Baumann's first outdoor championship title in the shot put and his second overall, having also won the 2016 indoor shot put national title. Baumann's decorated career now includes eight All-America honors: three times each in the indoor (8th, 1st, 2nd) and outdoor (3rd, 4th, 1st) shot put and twice in the outdoor discus throw (2nd, 3rd). Baumann placed third in the discus throw on Thursday with his mark of 161-10 (49.32 meters).

Junior Parker Witt (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North) earned three All-America honors, winning a national title in the 200 meters, finishing as runner-up in the 100 meter dash, and anchoring the third-place 4x100 relay squad. Contributing to a total of 24 points for the Warhawk men's team, Witt is now a nine-time All-American and a two-time national champion in the 200 meter dash.

Witt began championship Saturday by anchoring the 4x100 relay squad, with freshman Josh Iraci (Franklin, Wis./Franklin), senior Zak Loess (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North), and senior Grant Loess (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North), to a third-place finish in 40.67, just four-hundredths of a second off the 2007 school record. It was the first All-American honor for Iraci, Grant Loess and Zak Loess.

Witt followed up the 4x100 relay by finishing as runner-up in the 100 meter dash in a new career-best time of 10.37, resetting his own school record. One hour later, Witt came back to win the 200 meter dash in another new career-best time of 20.85, again resetting his own school record in the event.

Also leading the way on Saturday for the Warhawk men was junior Brett Harms (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater). Harms ran to a fifth place finish in the 3,000 meter steeplechase in a time of 9:11.29, earning his first track and field All-America honor. Harms is now a two-time All-American overall after finishing 32nd at the national cross country meet last fall.

Scoring a point for the Warhawk men on Saturday was senior Levi Perry (East Moline, Ill./United Township), who finished eighth in the hammer throw with a mark of 184-01 (56.11 meters) for his first All-America honor outdoors. Perry finishes his phenomenal career as a three-time All-American, having won the national title in the weight throw at the indoor national meet earlier this season.

Women

The Warhawk women were led by senior Meredith Porter (Hales Corners, Wis./Whitnall), who earned three All-America honors on Saturday. Porter finished as the runner-up in the 400 meter hurdles in 1:00.05. She also anchored the 4x100 and 4x400 relay squads to sixth and third place finishes, respectively. Porter's big day puts a fitting cap on an outstanding career as a Warhawk in which she finishes as a five-time All-American.

Saturday began with a sixth-place finish for the 4x100 relay squad of sophomore Jordan Tokarski (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine), sophomore Celeste Madda (Crystal Lake, Ill./Central), sophomore Abbie Felton (Burlington, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran), and Porter, running 47.41. This was Tokarski's first career All-America honor.

Madda finished sixth in the 200 meter dash, running a new career-best time of 24.36 to earn her second All-American honor of the day. An hour earlier, Madda placed ninth in the 100 meter dash final in another new career-best time of 11.96.

Contributing a point to the Warhawk women's team total on Saturday was junior Lindsay Chase (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater). Chase placed eighth in the women's hammer throw with a new career-best mark of 177-0 (53.95 meters) to earn her first All-America honor.

In the final event on Saturday, the women's 4x400 relay of Felton, sophomore Enyo Amet (Racine, Wis./Prairie), senior Leah Richter (Fond du Lac, Wis./Fond du Lac), and Porter reset the school record they broke on Thursday by over one second, running 3:43.75 to place third. Felton earned her second All-American honor of the day and third of her career, Amet earned her first career All-American honor, and Richter earned her second All-American honor to cap off her terrific career as a Warhawk.