Madison, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's cross country staff has been named the 2024 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Coaching Staff of the Year Award, the league office announced Wednesday.

Head coach Derek Stanley, assistant coaches Nathan Petesch and Hannah Beilke and strength and conditioning coordinator/mental skills trainer Phil Whitesitt guided UWL to a sweep of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III North Regional title and NCAA Division III Championship this season. 
 

It marks the fourth time (2018, 2022, 2023, 2024) UWL has earned the award. Stanley was also selected the 2013 and 2017 WIAC Men's Coach of the Year. The Coach of the Year award was re-named the Coaching Staff of the Year starting in 2018. 

Stanley was named the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's National Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). He was also selected the NCAA Division III North Regional Men's and Women's Coach of the Year.  

UWL captured this year's NCAA Division III Championship on November 23 at LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. The Eagles secured their fourth national title in school history with 77 team points. UWL also captured the NCAA Division III championship in 1996, 2001 and 2005. Wartburg College (Iowa) was second this year with 173 team points.

Four runners earned NCAA Division III All-America accolades with all finishing in the top-20. The Eagles' Grant Matthai was third overall, finishing with a time of 24:04.4 on the 8,000-meter course. Aidan Matthai was fifth overall (24:11.8) with Joey Sullivan 16th (24:26.7) and Jayden Zywicki 20th (24:31.6). It is the first time in school history UWL earned four NCAA Division III All-America honors at the same championships. The Eagles have earned three individual All-America awards five different seasons (1987, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2018). UWL picked up four National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-America accolades in 1984. 

UWL's Adam Loenser was 41st (24:54.0) overall this season while Chuck Vater placed 69th (25:00.2) and Corey Fairchild 117th (25:17.7).

The Eagles' coaching staff led the men's squad to the NCAA Division III North Regional title on November 16. It was UWL's seventh (2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2023, 2024) NCAA Division III Regional title in school history. All seven of UWL's runners earned NCAA III All-Region accolades with top-35 finishes this year. Aidan Matthai was second overall (24:30.3) with Grant Matthai third (24:30.3) with Zywicki 10th (24:45.4). Sullivan placed 11th overall (24:45.6) with Fairchild 14th (24:54.8), Elias Ritzke 20th (25:01.8) and Mason Brown 33rd (25:16.0).

UWL captured its seventh straight WIAC title on November 2, the 39th league championship in program history.  The Eagles' 12 runners all placed in the top-22, including six in the top-10. UWL's Grant Matthai won the individual title (23:34.5). He recorded the fastest time in WIAC history by four seconds. Matthai is fourth runner in the last six championships to win the league title, joining Thomas Schultz (2018), Josh Schraeder (2019) and Ethan Gregg (2022).  

Zywicki was fourth (24:01.0) at the WIAC Championships while Aidan Matthai placed fifth (24:06.7), Sullivan sixth (24:10.9), Fairchild eighth (24:15.8) and Loenser 10th (24:25.5). Ritzke finished 12th (24:27.6), Will Aurit 13th (24:30.1), Vater 14th (24:32.0), Chris Wolfe 17th (24:46.6), Owen Clark 19th (24:46.8) and Brown 22nd (24:50.4). Vater claimed the Kwik Trip Newcomer of the Year award for being the highest finishing newcomer at the championship.

The Eagles also won team titles at the Indiana State University John McNichols Invitational, University of Notre Dame Joe Piane Invitational, UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational and UWL Jim Drews Invitational as well as a dual victory over Luther College (Iowa). 

Petesch is in his seventh season as an assistant women's and men's cross country and track & field coach at UWL. He came to UWL after serving as a volunteer assistant cross country and track & field coach at the University of Wisconsin for one year.  Petesch was the associate head cross county coach at UW-River Falls from 2016-17.  Prior to UW-River Falls, Petesch had served as a volunteer assistant coach at Division II Fort Lewis College (Colo.).  He also served as an assistant coach at Wartburg College (Iowa), Brown University (R.I.) and as a graduate assistant at Ithaca College (N.Y.), where he earned his master's degree in human performance. Petesch earned his bachelor's degree with a double major in biology & geography from UW-Platteville.  

Beilke is in her fourth year as an assistant cross country coach after earning four letters for the Eagles. She is in her fifth year teaching science at La Crosse (Wis.) Logan High School.  Beilke was an assistant cross country and track & field coach at Logan High School in 2020-21 after serving as a volunteer assistant cross country at Tomah (Wis.) High School while student teaching in 2019. She earned her bachelor's degree from UWL in 2019 and master's degree in 2021.  Beilke was named the 2018 WIAC Athlete of the Year.  She earned NCAA Division III All-America honors with an 18th-place championship finish.  Beilke earned two All-WIAC Honorable Mention accolades at the league championships, placing 16th in 2015 and 19th in 2017. Beilke also competed at the 2015 and 2017 NCAA III Championships.

 

Whitesitt serves as UWL's Strength and Conditioning Coordinator/Mental Skills Trainer/Mental Performance Consultant for the Intercollegiate Athletics Department. He is also the coordinator of sports performance for the Eagles. A native of Brownsville, Minnesota, Whitesitt was a member of the UWL track and field team from 2001-04 when the team won eight straight national championships.  He was a four-time NCAA III All-America in the 35-pound weight throw and hammer. He earned his undergraduate degree in physical education from UWL in 2005 and his master's degree in human performance with an emphasis in strength and conditioning in 2008.