University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will strive for a sixth consecutive crown when the nine league teams assemble at the 2012 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Cross Country Championship.  The 35th annual competition will be held at Cole Acres Golf Course in Cuba City, Wis., on Oct. 27, and hosted by UW-Platteville.

The Blugolds won the seventh title in program archives last season with 41 points.  UW-Stevens Point finished second with 94 points, UW-La Crosse third with 103, UW-Oshkosh fourth with 107, UW-Stout fifth with 124, UW-Platteville sixth with 128, UW-Whitewater seventh with 146, UW-River Falls eighth with 186 and UW-Superior ninth with 286.

UW-Eau Claire is ranked 10th in the NCAA Division III based on the Oct. 17 poll distributed by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.  UW-Oshkosh also earned a spot on the ballot at 29th.

UW-Oshkosh senior Christy Cazzola is the two-time defending individual champion. She could become the first person in WIAC listings to win three consecutive crowns and just the second to claim three overall first-place finishes.  Only former Titan Tiffany Speckman has three overall titles to her credit, winning the race in 1994, 1996 and 1997.

This season, Cazzola has won the individual title at the Warhawk Invitational, and added second-place finishes at the Notre Dame (Ind.) Invitational and UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational.  She finished fourth at the WIAC championship in 2008.

Returning runners that have secured All-WIAC honors at previous conference championships include:  UW-Eau Claire seniors Ashlyn Mauer (6th-2011, 14th-2010) and Steph Sjostrom (12th-2011), and juniors Nikki Rendler (20th-2011) and Madi Sawyer (5th-2011, 12th-2010); UW-La Crosse junior Rachel Schroeder (19th-2011, 15th-2010) and sophomore Corissa Conard (18th-2011); UW-Oshkosh senior McKenzie Kelly (13th-2011, 20th-2010, 11th-2009); UW-River Falls senior Katie Rydeen (3rd-2011, 13th-2010); UW-Stevens Point sophomore Julia Colling (9th-2011) and junior Kelsey Laska (18th-2010); UW-Stout junior Katie Hicks (10th-2011); and UW-Whitewater senior Alyssa Duncan (8th-2011).

The top seven runners in the race will receive All-WIAC first team recognition, while runners placing eight through 14 earn All-WIAC second team accolades.  Individuals finishing 15 through 20 claim honorable mention laurels.

All nine WIAC teams will return to action Nov. 10, and participate in the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional at Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne, Wis.  The regional event will be hosted by UW-Oshkosh.  The NCAA Division III Championship is scheduled for Nov. 17, at LaVerne Gibson Course in Terre Haute, Ind., and will be hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Ind.).