Hall of Fame
Ben Zill totaled two NCAA Division II titles, six WIAC titles and 10 All-America awards as the UW-Oshkosh men’s track & field program earned a pair of national championships and three other top-four national trophies from 2007-10.
UW-Oshkosh won both of its NCAA Division III titles in 2009, scoring 32 points to win the indoor championship and 46 to capture the outdoor crown. Zill played an important role in both UW-Oshkosh victories, the first two national titles in program history, as he teamed with Willy Kaul, Nate Stymiest and Ben Wizner to win the indoor distance medley relay while finishing fifth in the indoor pentathlon and second in the outdoor 400-meter hurdles.
Zill had a very celebrated season in 2010 as he was named the Outstanding Track Performer at the NCAA Indoor Championship, WIAC Indoor Championship and WIAC Outdoor Championship. The Green Bay Preble High School graduate was also selected as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s 2010 Division III Midwest Region Track Athlete Of The Year.
Zill’s 2010 season was remarkable and led the Titans to national finishes of fourth indoors and seventh outdoors. Nationally, Zill won the indoor 400-meter run with a time of 48.33 seconds, teamed with Brett DeNure, Nate Stymiest and Ben Wizner to finish third in the indoor distance medley relay, partnered with John Cejka, Alex DeWitt and Chris Lipke to place sixth in the indoor 1,600-meter relay and placed second in the outdoor 400-meter hurdles. At the conference level, Zill won the indoor 400-meter run, indoor pentathlon, outdoor 400-meter run and outdoor 400-meter hurdles.
As a freshman in 2007, Zill teamed with A.J. Hollanquest, Scot Michel and Jared Morris to finish sixth in the 1,600-meter relay at the NCAA Indoor Championship. The group’s All-America performance helped the Titans to a third-place national finish.
In 2008, Zill teamed with Nate Boehlke, Andrew McGuire and Jared Morris to finish seventh in the distance medley relay at the NCAA Indoor Championship and placed fourth in the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championship. Zill’s efforts helped UW-Oshkosh finish third nationally during the indoor season and seventh outdoors.
Zill also has two other WIAC victories on his resume, wins in the outdoor 400-meter hurdles in 2008 and the indoor pentathlon in 2009.
Zill currently owns a pair of UW-Oshkosh records after totaling 3,699 points in the indoor pentathlon on February 26, 2010 and posting a time of 51.46 seconds in the outdoor 400-meter hurdles on May 29, 2010. He also ranks second in school history in the indoor 400-meter run with a 2010 time of 48.33 seconds.
In 2012, Zill was among 14 Titans selected to the 54-member WIAC Men’s Track & Field All-Centennial Team.
Following the completion of his track & field eligibility, Zill played football for UW-Oshkosh during the 2010 season. He played in eight games for the Titans, catching two passes for 24 yards while blocking one kick.
Zill, who lives in Clintonville with his wife, Lisha, and their children, Ansel, Gerti and Wynni, works for August Winter & Sons as a journeyman plumber.
