UW-Eau Claire Wins Second Straight Men’s Cross Country Crown
(The above photo features Mike Kriegl - Culver's Neenah posing with the UW-Eau Claire men's cross country team)
WINNECONNE, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire won the 2015 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Men’s Cross Country (presented by Culver’s) at Lake Breeze Golf Club on Oct. 31.
The conference title for the Blugolds is their second straight and third overall. They secured a first-place finish with 33 points to exceed UW-La Crosse’s second-place total of 80 points. UW-Oshkosh finished third with 82 points, UW-Platteville fourth with 104, UW-Stevens Point fifth with 111, UW-Stout sixth with 153, UW-Whitewater seventh with 191 and UW-River Falls eighth with 204.
UW-Platteville’s Ian LaMere captured the individual title with a time of 24:07.26 on the 8,000-meter course. The Pioneers have a six runners win a combined nine league crowns with the most recent being Jason Garvens in 2010. A total of 92 individuals finished this year’s race.
UW-Eau Claire’s Josh Thorson, the defending champion, placed second with a time of 24:48.56, while UW-Eau Claire’s Ryan Mugan was third in 24:59.84, UW-Eau Claire’s Darin Lau fourth in 25:03.32, UW-Oshkosh’ Jordan Carpenter fifth in 25:10.19, UW-Eau Claire’s Christian Leitner sixth in 25:30.82 and UW-Oshkosh’s Charlend Howard seventh in 25:34.11.
UW-Whitewater’s Brett Harms finished eighth in 25:43.39, UW-Stevens Point’s Neil Pedersen ninth in 25:50.31, UW-La Crosse’s Austin Zajkowski 10th in 25:54.69, UW-La Crosse’s Ian Ewers 11th in 25:55.56, UW-Stevens Point’s Dane Tyler 12th in 25:55.70, UW-River Falls’ Julian Manley 13th in 25:56.80 and UW-Oshkosh’s Wal Khat 14th in 26:01.87.
UW-La Crosse’s Jonah Weisse took 15th in 26:05.00, UW-Oshkosh’s Roberto Lara 16th in 26:10.96, UW-Platteville’s Jason Winchel 17th in 26:12.13, UW-Eau Claire’s Brendon Paucek 18th in 26:13.76, UW-Eau Claire’s Matt Cooper 19th in 26:14.33 and UW-Stout’s Tony Cass 20th in 26:15.51.
The top seven runners received All-WIAC first team recognition, while runners placing eight through 14 earned All-WIAC second team accolades. Individuals finishing 15 through 20 claimed honorable mention laurels.
UW-Oshkosh’s Jordan Carpenter received the Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete Award. The award is sponsored by Badgerland Financial.
An All-Sportsmanship Team was chosen for individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season. It included one member from each school. Named to the squad were: UW-Eau Claire’s Nick Petersson; UW-La Crosse’s Evan Kacmarynski; UW-Oshkosh’s Roberto Lara; UW-Platteville’s Brian Rivers; UW-River Falls’ Jacob McLeod; UW-Stevens Point’s Jedidiah Dodge; UW-Stout’s Connor Ahrens; and UW-Whitewater’s Quinn Farley.
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