OSHKOSH — UW-Oshkosh has many track and field athletes that are worthy of a story, but one in particular has stood out many times over the past year.
That’s junior long jumper Joshua Rivers, who was recently named the NCAA Division III USTFCCCA men’s indoor field athlete of the year.
“For us really, it's Josh doing Josh things,” said UW-Oshkosh head coach Justin Kinseth.
After a terrific summer of competition, Rivers and his head coach say they had a feeling big things were in store.
“The first meet he popped was at Oshkosh here at home, popped a big one,” Kinseth said. We all knew it could happen, but when it did, everyone was like wow, finally!”
In December, Rivers broke the Division III long jump record leaping 8.13 meters. That mark would have placed him 6th at the 2024 Olympics.
“Just thinking about the journey meant a lot more than actually hitting the goal because I just had a very tough journey and I'm just thankful for the opportunity of me competing in this sport,” Rivers said.
That journey, led Rivers away from Oshkosh his freshman year. He decided to transfer, hoping he could compete at a Division 1 school. When that didn't work out, Rivers came back to UWO. However, the talent has always been there and Kinseth says Rivers' success comes from his discipline.
“Even the little things that he does with his stretching routine, getting ready for practice, his dynamic warm up, what he’s putting himself into for rest and recovery – he’s very good at doing the little things right,” said the Titans head coach.
Rivers was a high jumper in high school, but when he got to Oshkosh they tried him at long jump and he says he never looked back.
“I don't know what it is about just running and jumping, but something about it just relieves my mind and creates a lot of ease,” Rivers said.
For his efforts, Rivers was recently named the USTFCCCA men’s indoor field athlete of the year. He competed at the 2025 USA Indoor Championships and although he graduates this spring, his head coach says his track career is far from over.
“For him to go to that next step, it’s more of a matter of when, than probably if. Definitely not if. When it happens, he’s got a lot more jumping after college as well. He’s going to do some pretty cool stuff in his later years,” said Kinseth.
