UW-La Crosse Secures Eighth Consecutive Men’s Cross Country Championship; Grant Matthai Claims Second Straight Individual Title

OSHKOSH, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Men’s Cross Country Championship (presented by Culver’s) at XC Ranch at Moore’s Field of Dreams on Nov. 1.

It is the eighth straight title for the Eagles and 40th in program history. UW-La Crosse totaled 24 points to exceed UW-Platteville’s second-place total of 77 points. UW-Stevens Point took third with 87 points, UW-Whitewater fourth with 123, UW-Oshkosh fifth with 123, UW-Eau Claire sixth with 135, UW-River Falls seventh with 195 and UW-Stout eighth with 211. UW-Platteville and UW-Stevens Point both recorded their highest finish since the 2010 championship.

UW-La Crosse’s Grant Matthai claimed the individual crown for the second consecutive year after completing the 8,000-meter course in a conference record time of 23:24.5. He is the 15th runner in conference history to secure back-to-back first-place finishes. A total of 92 runners completed this year’s race.

UW-La Crosse’s Jayden Zywicki was second with a time of 23:47.1, UW-Eau Claire’s Jack Hesse-Withbroe third in 23:53.2, UW-Whitewater’s Dan Anderson fourth in 23:54.4, UW-Platteville’s Caden Schneider fifth in 23:56.6, UW-La Crosse’s Chuck Vater sixth in 23:58.1, and UW-La Crosse’s Aidan Matthai seventh in 24:02.1.

UW-La Crosse’s Joey Sullivan finished eighth in 24:03.7, UW-Oshkosh’s Cameron Cullen ninth in 24:06.0, UW-Platteville’s Zach Sporaa 10th in 24:07.2, UW-La Crosse’s Aidan Manning 11th in 24:17.7, UW-La Crosse’s Nico Castellanos 12th in 24:20.9, UW-Stevens Point’s Mateo Alvarado Venegas 13th in 24:28.0 and UW-La Crosse’s Mason Brown 14th in 24:30.4. Castellanos claimed the Newcomer of the Year award for being the highest finishing newcomer at the championship. A newcomer 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.

UW-La Crosse’s Owen Clark took 15th in 24:38.0, UW-Stevens Point’s Logan Murphy 16th in 24:42.8, UW-Oshkosh’s Paul Proteau 17th in 24:46.0, UW-Platteville’s Max Voss 18th in 24:46.8, UW-Stevens Point’s Mike Brown 19th in 24:51.7 and UW-Stevens Point’s Malachi Kurth 20th in 24:52.7.

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.

Grant Matthai was named recipient of 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 team as selected by that team. Named to the squad were: UW-Eau Claire’s Troy VerStrate; UW-La Crosse’s Mason Brown; UW-Oshkosh’s Alex Bernhardt; UW-Platteville’s Alexander Albano; UW-River Falls’ Cooper Smith; UW-Stevens Point’s Ryan Rininger; UW-Stout’s Mateo Meza-Melendez; and UW-Whitewater’s Brandon Massman.

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