Men's Cross Country

UW-La Crosse Claims Ninth Straight Men’s Cross Country Championship; UW-Stevens Point’s Murphy Secures 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 UW-Whitewater’s campus course on Oct. 31.
 
It is the ninth consecutive title for the Eagles and 41st in program history. UW-La Crosse totaled 27 points to exceed UW-Stevens Point’s second-place total of 46 points. UW-Whitewater took third with 100 points, UW-Stout Polytechnic fourth with 128, UW-River Falls fifth with 133, UW-Eau Claire sixth with 135, UW-Oshkosh seventh with 177 and UW-Platteville eighth with 242. UW-Stevens Point recorded its highest finish since the 2010 championship, while UW-River Falls posted its best finish since 1985.
 
UW-Stevens Point’s Logan Murphy claimed the individual crown after completing the 8,000-meter course in a time of 24:07.1. He is the first Pointer to finish first at the conference championship since 2000. UW-Stevens Point has had nine individual champions. A total of 91 runners completed this year’s race.
 
UW-Stevens Point’s Mateo Alvarado Venegas was second with a time of 24:30.9, UW-La Crosse’s Owen Clark third in 25:01.1, UW-La Crosse’s Declan Gregg fourth in 25:02.1, UW-La Crosse’s Kyle Johnson fifth in 25:04.6, UW-Whitewater’s Nick Wendl sixth in 25:07.7 and UW-La Crosse’s Chase Altergott seventh in 25:09.6. Johnson claimed the conference’s 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 Ben Weston placed eighth in 25:12.1, UW-La Crosse’s Will Aurit ninth in 25:12.4, UW-La Crosse’s Owen Layton 11th in 25:13.0, UW-La Crosse’s Isaac Ewing 12th in 25:13.0, UW-Whitewater’s Conner Murphy 13th in 25:16.3, UW-La Crosse’s Riley Huss 14th in 25:20.3 and UW-Stevens Point’s Ethan Vandermeer 15th in 25:27.2.
 
UW-River Falls' Wyatt Johnson took 16th in 25:28.7, UW-La Crosse’s Chuck Vater 17th in 25:29.7, UW-Eau Claire’s Kyle McNally 18th in 25:29.8, UW-Stevens Point’s Malachi Kurth 19th in 25:31.0, UW-Stevens Point’s Kyle Kieper 20th in 25:33.0 and UW-Whitewater’s Matt Andreano 21st in 25:29.1.

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 21st claimed All-WIAC honorable mention laurels.
 
Logan Murphy 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 Cole Bremmer; UW-La Crosse’s Alec Taylor; UW-Oshkosh’s Aaron Nehls; UW-Platteville’s Will Johnson; UW-River Falls’ Derek Kreier; UW-Stevens Point’s Thomas Nelson; UW-Stout’s Mason Aide; and UW-Whitewater Kody Wassman.
 
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