Men's Cross Country

UW-La Crosse Wins Men’s Cross Country Title; UW-Whitewater’s Patzka Claims Individual Crown

PRESCOTT, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse claimed the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Men’s Cross Country Championship (presented by Culver’s) at Prescott High School on Oct. 28.
 
It is the sixth straight first-place finish for the Eagles and 38th in program history. UW-La Crosse had 22 points to exceed UW-Whitewater’s second-place total of 41 points. UW-La Crosse’s 22 points is the fewest since the 1993 championship when the Eagles also had 22.
 
UW-Stout placed third with 117 points, UW-Platteville fourth with 123, UW-Oshkosh fifth with 142, UW-Eau Claire sixth with 143, UW-Stevens Point seventh with 147 and UW-River Falls eighth with 260.
 
UW-Whitewater’s Christian Patzka topped the field of 91 runners, completing the 8,000-meter course in 24:20.5. He becomes the second Warhawk in the last three seasons to win the individual title.
 
UW-La Crosse’s Ethan Gregg, the defending champion, finished second in 24:24.2, UW-La Crosse’s Grant Matthai third in 24:38.1, UW-La Crosse’s Isaac Wegner fourth in 24:43.6, UW-Whitewater’s Gunner Schlender fifth in 24:49.3, UW-La Crosse’s Joey Sullivan sixth in 24:56.0 and UW-La Crosse’s Adam Loenser seventh in 24:57.6.
 
UW-Platteville’s Caden Schneider was eighth in 24:59.1, UW-Whitewater’s Dan Anderson ninth in 25:00.6, UW-Eau Claire’s Mason Shea 10th in 25:01.8, UW-La Crosse’s Corey Fairchild 11th in 25:02.4, UW-Whitewater’s Craig Hundley 12th in 25:06.9, UW-La Crosse’s Luke Chaffin 13th in 25:12.2, and UW-La Crosse’s Jayden Zywicki 14th in 25:12.7.
 
UW-Whitewater’s Chris Allen placed 15th in 25:13.7, UW-Stout’s Calvin Fiala 16th in 25:21.1, UW-La Crosse’s Elias Ritzke 17th in 25:21.7, UW-Whitewater’s Justin Krause 18th in 25:25.9, UW-Stout’s Ian Williams 19th in 25:31.8, and UW-Whitewater’s Tucker Johnson 20th in 25:32.7.
 
UW-Stevens Point’s Logan Murphy finished 27th and was tabbed the Kwik Trip Newcomer of the Year for being the highest finishing newcomer at the championship. A Newcomer of the Year is defined as a student-athlete who used his first season of participation in men's cross country this season. Transfers are not eligible unless they didn’t participate in men’s cross country at their previous institution.

The top seven runners received All-WIAC first team recognition, while runners placing eighth through 14th earned All-WIAC second team accolades. Individuals finishing 15th through 20th claimed All-WIAC honorable mention laurels.
 
UW-La Crosse’s Isaac Wegner received the Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete Award.
 
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 Carl Lundgren; UW-La Crosse’s Reed Anderson; UW-Oshkosh’s Joe Kehoe; UW-Platteville’s Davin Dahl; UW-River Falls’ Alex Pazdernik; UW-Stevens Point’s Aidan Schleutermann; UW-Stout’s Andrew Carlson; and UW-Whitewater’s Alex Metko.
 
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