Results
Lansing, Mich. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's cross country team placed eighth at the 2022 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships Saturday at Forest Akers Golf Course in Lansing, Michigan. Olivet College and the Greater Lansing Sports Authority served as hosts of the championships.
UWL finished with 276 points. Massachusetts Institute of Technology won the NCAA Division III title with 82 points with Wartburg College (Iowa) second with 129, SUNY Geneseo third with 168 and John Carroll University (Ohio) fourth with 186. Pomona-Pitzer College, Calif. was fifth (193) followed by Williams University, Mass. (199), North Central College, Ill. (265), UWL (276), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, N.Y. (279) and UW-Whitewater (365) to round-out the top-10. A total of 32 teams competed.
UWL's
Ethan Gregg and
Isaac Wegner both earned NCAA III All-America honors on Saturday with Gregg finishing fourth overall with a time of 24:52.8 on the 8,000-meter course while Wegner finished 12th with a time of 25:16.2. It is the second career All-America accolade for Gregg after he finished 11th last season. He placed 125th in 2019. Wegner, competing in his second national meet, earned his first career All-America award. He finished 53rd in 2021.
The Eagles'
Grant Matthai finished 70th (25:56.1),
Corey Fairchild 93rd (26:02.3),
Aidan Matthai 171st (26:27.6),
Elias Ritzke 184th (26:32.3) and
Parker Huhn 202nd (26:42.4) on Saturday.
Huhn and Fairchild both ran in their second NCAA III Championships on Saturday after Huhn was 83rd and Fairchild 90th a year ago.
Grant Matthai,
Aidan Matthai and Ritzke competed in their first championship.
Alex Phillip of John Carroll (Ohio) won the national title with a time of 24:37.6. A total of 292 runners completed the race.
UWL, making its 35th appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship, has won three NCAA Division III titles (1996, 2001, 2005). The Eagles have 27 top-six finishes in school history at the national meet, including 14 in the top-three. UWL placed 10th in 2021 and seventh in 2019. The Eagles were second in 2017 after finishing third in 2013, 2014 and 2018 and fourth in 2012. UWL was sixth in 2016. The 2020 championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 public health threat.
With Gregg's fourth-place finish, UWL now has 16 top-10 individual finishes in school history at the NCAA III Championships. His fourth-place finish is the best since
Josh Schraeder was fourth in 2018. Schraeder was also fifth in 2019.
Brett Altergott captured the national title in 1997 and was eighth in 1996.
Jim Bachelor placed second in 1986 and third in 1987 while
Mike Junig was fourth in 1987. Other top-10 finishes include:
Mahdi Omar (fourth) in 1993;
Brad Wilson (seventh) in 1996 and 1997 (fourth);
Dan Peso (sixth) in 1999;
Tyler Foos (third) and
Ross Substad (seventh) in 2001;
Paul Zdroik (fifth) in 2007, and
Tyler Nault in 2019 (eighth).
UWL earned an automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Division III Championships after placing second at the NCAA Division III North Regional November 12 at the St. Olaf College (Minn.) Cross Country Trails. The Eagles finished with 83 team points while UW-Whitewater won the regional title with 73 points. A total of 29 teams competed.
UWL head coach Derek Stanley has led the men's squad to seven (2012-13, 2017-19, 2021-22) Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships. The Eagles have recorded top-four finishes at the NCAA Division III Championships in five different seasons under Stanley, including second in 2017. UWL was third in 2013, 2014 and 2018 and fourth in 2012. The Eagles finished ninth in 2015, sixth in 2016 and 10th in 2022.
He has also led the women's team to five (2013-14, 2016, 2021-22) WIAC titles. UWL placed sixth at the 2016 NCAA Division III Championships, the team's best finish since a fourth-place showing in 2005. The Eagles finished 11th last year, while placing 19th in 2019, ninth at the 2018 national meet,12th at 2015, 13th in 2014, 19th in 2013, 25th in 2012 and 17th in 2017
Stanley was an assistant men's cross country coach and assistant women's and men's track & field coach for the Eagles in 2011-12.
