Championships Website
La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's cross country team is set to compete at the 2024 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships Saturday, November 23, at LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. The men's race begins at 11 a.m. (Central). Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Ind.) is serving as host of the championships.
The Eagles will be represented at the NCAA III Championships by seniors
Corey Fairchild of
Highland Park, Ill. (H.S.) and
Adam Loenser of
Clear Lake (H.S.), juniors
Aidan Matthai of
Wauwatosa (East),
Grant Matthai of
Wauwatosa (East),
Joey Sullivan of
Stetsonsville (Medford) and
Jayden Zywicki of
Stoughton (H.S.) and freshman
Chuck Vater of
Iola (Iola-Scandinavia).
Seniors
Elias Ritzke of
Poynette (H.S.) and
Chris Wolfe of
Madison (La Follette) and junior
Will Aurit of
Dodgeville (H.S.) are listed as alternates.
Fairchild,
Aidan Matthai,
Grant Matthai and
Elias Ritzke are all competing in their third national championships. Fairchild was 119th in 2021 and 93rd in 2022.
Aidan Matthai,
Grant Matthai and Ritzke have competed in the last two championships.
Aidan Matthai was 171st in 2022 and 76th last year while
Grant Matthai placed 70th in 2022 and 63rd in 2023. Ritzke finished 184th in 2022 and 206th in 2023.
Sullivan is making his second career appearance, finishing 59th last season.
Aurit, Vater, Wolfe and Zywicki will be making their first career NCAA Division III Championship appearances.
UWL, making its 37th appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship, has won three NCAA Division III titles (1996, 2001, 2005). The Eagles have 28 top-six finishes in school history at the national meet, including 15 in the top-three. UWL was second last season and 2017. The Eagles placed eighth in 2022, 10th in 2021 and seventh in 2019. UWL finished 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.
Ethan Gregg and
Isaac Wegner earned NCAA III All-America honors last season with Gregg capturing the individual national title and Wegner placing 18th overall. Gregg became the second runner in school history to win the national title, joining Brett Altergott in 1997.
UWL has 17 top-10 individual finishes in school history at the NCAA III Championships. Along with winning the title a year ago, Gregg was fourth in 2022 and 11th in 2021. Altergott was eighth in 1996 and took the title in 1997. 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, Josh Schraeder in 2018 (fourth) and 2019 (fifth) and Tyler Nault in 2019 (eighth).
UWL earned an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division III Championships after winning the NCAA Division III North Regional November 16 in Northfield, Minnesota. The Eagles finished with 41 team points while UW-Whitewater was second with 81 points. A total of 31 teams competed.
All seven of UWL's runners earned US. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region accolades with top-35 finishes. The Eagles'
Aidan Matthai was second overall, completing the 8,000-meter course in 24:30.3. UWL's
Grant Matthai finished third (24:30.3) with Zywicki 10th (24:45.4).
Sullivan placed 11th overall (24:45.6) with Fairchild 14th (24:54.8), Ritzke 20th (25:01.8) and
Mason Brown 33rd (25:16.0).
In the final 2024 pre-championships poll by the USTFCCCA, UWL is ranked first in NCAA Division III. Wartburg College (Iowa) is ranked second with Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (Calif.) third and North Central College (Iowa) fourth.
UWL head coach
Derek Stanley has led the men's squad to nine (2012-13, 2017-19, 2021-24) Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championships. The Eagles have recorded top-four finishes at the NCAA Division III Championships in six different seasons under Stanley, including second in 2017 and 2023. UWL placed eighth in 2022, third in 2013, 2014 and 2018 and fourth in 2012. The Eagles finished ninth in 2015, sixth in 2016 and 10th in 2021.
He has also led the women's team to seven (2013-14, 2016, 2021-24) 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 10th last season. UWL was 15th in 2022 and 11th in 2021 while placing 19th in 2019 and ninth at the 2018 national meet. UWL placed 12th in 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.
