2017 WIAC Men's Cross Country Championship Preview

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University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will strive for a fourth straight first-place finish at the 2017 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Men’s Cross Country Championship (Presented by Culver’s). The 57th edition of the league meet will be hosted by UW-Whitewater at the UW-Whitewater Cross Country Trails on Oct. 28.
 
The Blugolds collected the fourth title in program archives a season ago with 41 points to slip past UW-La Crosse’s second-place total of 50 points. UW-Platteville placed third with 100 points, UW-Oshkosh fourth with 129, UW-Stevens Point fifth with 144, UW-Stout sixth with 152, UW-River Falls seventh with 175 and UW-Whitewater eighth with 179.
 
Four teams are ranked among the finest in the NCAA Division III based on Oct. 18 rankings distributed by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. UW-La Crosse is ranked fourth, while UW-Eau Claire is 18th, UW-Stout 21st and UW-Platteville 31st.
 
Returning runners that have secured All-WIAC honors at previous conference championships include: UW-Eau Claire’s Riley Huffman (19th-2016), Sam Kuhlmann (15th-2016), Darin Lau (9th-2014, 4th-2015, 2nd-2016), Brandon Paucek (18th-2015) and Patrick Treacy (8th-2016); UW-La Crosse’s Ian Ewers (11th-2015, 11th-2016), Sam Hinz (12th-2016), Josh Schraeder (16th-2016), Thomas Schultz (4th-2016), Jonah Weisse (8th-2014, 15th-2015, 10th-2016) and Austin Zajkowski (10th-2015, 13th-2016); and UW-Whitewater’s Brett Harms (8th-2015, 3rd-2016).
 
Also producing top times for their teams this fall have been:  UW-Oshkosh’s Lucas Weber; UW-Platteville’s Zach Lee and Walker Rynes; UW-River Falls’ Braydon Johnson; UW-Stevens Point’s Alex Egbert and Matt Stelmasek; and UW-Stout’s Alexander Ilyushey.
 
The top seven runners in the 8,000-meter 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 eight WIAC teams will return to action on Nov. 11, and participate in the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional at Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, Ill. The regional event will be hosted by Augustana College. Principia College (Ill.) will host the NCAA Division III Championship on Nov. 18.
 
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