Results
Lansing, Mich. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's cross country team placed 15th 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.
The Eagles totaled 442 team points. Johns Hopkins University (Md.) won the NCAA III title with 144 points with the University of Chicago (Ill.) second with 147, Wartburg College (Iowa) third with 178 and Carleton College (Minn.) fourth with 179. SUNY Geneseo placed fifth (198) followed by Washington University-St. Louis, Mo. (198), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (223), St. Olaf College, Minn. (256), Williams University, Mass. (264) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, Calif. (281) to round-out the top-10. A total of 32 teams competed.
UWL's
Maddie Hannan earned her first career NCAA Division III All-America honor on Saturday, placing 20th overall with a time of 22:29.1 on the 6,000-metre course. In her third career appearance at the national championships, Hannan is the first runner to earn All-America accolades since
Sadie Kroll was 12th and
Hannah Beilke 18th in 2018. Hannan placed 149th in 2019 and 117th in 2021. She is 24th runner to place in the top-20 for UWL.
The Eagles'
Maddy Vantassel placed 104th (23:28.9) Saturday with
Madelynn McIntyre 120th (23:36.3),
Jenna Lovejoy 161st (23:52.9),
Kimberly Carviou 187th (24:01.1),
Julia Anderson 194th (24:06.1) and
Charlotte Mueller 236th (24:25.9).
Vantassel was also competing in her third NCAA III Championships. She placed 160th in 2019 and 72nd in 2021. McIntyre and Lovejoy ran in their second national meet on Saturday after McIntyre finished 133rd and Lovejoy 81st last season. Carviou, Anderson and Mueller competed in their first national championships Saturday.
Kassie Parker of Loras College (Iowa) won the national title with a time of 21:06.5. A total of 292 runners completed the race.
UWL was making its 36th appearance in the NCAA Division III Championships. The Eagles have recorded 14 top-six finishes in school history, including eight in the top-four. UWL won the national title in 1983 and placed second in 1982.
UWL has 11 individuals in school history finish in the top-10 at the NCAA III Championships.
Tori Neubauer captured the individual national title in 1982 and 1983. Other top-10 finishes include:
Patty Reynolds (fifth) and
Sheri Winter (sixth) in 1985; Winter (fourth) in 1986;
Sara Gilles (ninth) in 1988;
Sarah Bashinski (ninth) in 1996;
Jenny Fielder (eighth) in 1999;
Julia Rudd (second) in 2005;
Stephanie Perleberg (seventh) in 2009 and
Laura Mead (10th) in 2014.
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 64 team points while Carleton College (Minn.) won the regional title with 41 points. A total of 34 teams competed.
UWL head coach
Derek Stanley has led the women's team to five (2013-14, 2016, 2021-22) Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (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 in 2021 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.
He has led the men's squad to seven (2012-13, 2017-19, 2021-22) 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 and sixth in 2016.
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.
